Her fate was to die
by SummerRavyn
Summary: After Edward leaves in NM Bella gets sick, and starts to think that fate wants to catch up with her. AU,E/B Sad in parts.
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: Okay as someone who hates when storys are started and never finished, I can tell you all now. This story is DONE. The entire thing has been written and is being beta read currently. As I get my chapters back from my beta reader you get them here. If anything happens to me she will post the rest herself. Now that that's out of the way.

Summary: This story is AU and begins right after the beginning of new moon, but the day Edward leaves is a little different. I wrote this after reading spoilers for NM but before I had read NM, E or BD. Then after I finished the books it was revised slightly.

* * *

Chapter 1, One Leaves, Another Returns

They walked into the woods together, and Bella could see in the set of his shoulders that something was very wrong. He wouldn't look at her, he wouldn't even glance in her direction. She knew in some part of her mind that this would be really bad.

He stopped, but didn't turn before he began to speak. "Bella, we're leaving."

As soon as she heard the words she understood, but desperately wished she was wrong.

"Why now? Is it because of what happened at the party? Isn't that a little drastic? It was an accident." He finally turned; his face looked like stone, cold and uncaring.

"One that could have been prevented. We shouldn't stay here any longer anyway. People will start to wonder why we don't age." He still wouldn't look her in the eye. He would look in her direction, but never met her eye.

"Then let me come with you!"

"That's not a good idea Bella. It wouldn't be the right place for you. You don't belong in my world." Bella started to tremble at his words.

"What are you talking about? I belong wherever you are." She felt the first tear fall. "I love you, Edward. I don't care where we are."

"It doesn't matter. We will be gone by tonight. It will be as though we never existed." She saw a brief emotion flow across his face, but it was back to stone before she could try to categorize it. She felt like she had been kicked in the chest.

"You mean I won't even get to talk to you again? Or Alice, or Esme? Please…just take me with you. You promised you wouldn't leave me alone."

He finally looked into her eyes, and what she saw there scared her. There was no love, no affection, no warmth. It was like the first day they met; his eyes were filled with the cold fire of someone dealing with something unpleasant.

"My staying isn't good for either of us, and I don't want you to come."

She felt her heart tear, and it felt like she was bleeding into her chest.

"Why?"

"To be honest, I'm tired of trying to be something I'm not. I'm tired of pretending with you. It's time I moved on."

"But…" She was crying in earnest now, tears blurring her vision. "But you said you loved me. Are you telling me now you were pretending?" Her voice kept cracking, so it took her some time to get it out.

"I wouldn't call it pretending, really. I told you, your scent is like a drug. However I'm sure you understand that chemistry doesn't equal love." He sounded like he was explaining rain to a child.

"You…loved the drug…never me?" It felt weird in her mouth saying the words, forming them.

"Exactly. I'm sure in time you will move on, human emotions are so fickle. I shouldn't have let this go on so long, I'm sorry for that."

"Please don't apologize for that. Never for that." She felt the tears flow.

"You're not right for me Bella."

So it came down to that, then. Somehow she had always known it would. She'd known from the start she wasn't good enough for him, but she had foolishly put her heart in his hands. She felt her whole body go numb, and her brain followed. The pain was gone, but the pressure remained.

"Okay. I understand." Bella saw something else flicker across his face, but again it was gone too quickly to see.

"I would like to ask one favor, though. If that's not too much."

"Anything." She looked up at him brokenly, wondering what he could want from her when he was taking everything away. His eyes turned molten in an instant; no longer cold, but burning with intensity.

"Don't do anything reckless or stupid, do you understand?"

She simply nodded, unable to say anything around the pressure in her chest. His eyes returned to their previous state, and Bella felt dizzy with the whiplash of it.

"I'm thinking of Charlie, of course. He needs you. Take care of yourself - for him."

Again she just nodded.

"I promise, you will never see me or any member of my family again. We will not interfere with your life anymore." She didn't know how, but her tears had stopped. She couldn't seem to wrap her head around the last few minutes.

"Don't worry," he continued. "You will forget me soon enough. Human memory is like a sieve." Again that same emotion passed in his eyes.

"What about you? Your memory?" She asked closing her eyes.

He stared at her a moment.

"I won't forget… but my kind are easily distracted." He smiled. "Good bye, Bella."

He moved forward and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in the hair by her neck. He took a deep breath through his nose. "Take care of yourself."

Then there was silence, and when she opened her eyes he was gone.

With that realization came and a sharp tearing sensation in her chest, and she collapsed to the ground. The numbness was gone, and it felt like chunks of her chest were missing. She couldn't breath right, it came in fits and spurts, and some part of her mind still capable of thought around the pain said…

'_One last hit. I really was nothing but a drug. I wish I was strong enough to give up mine. Now he's gone_.'

She didn't know how long she laid there crying on the ground, but sometime after dusk she pulled herself up and began walking back to her home.

'_Charlie,_' she thought. '_He's probably home and worried. I broke my promise already_.'

Sure enough, when she could see the house again, every light was on. She pulled herself together; she needed to take care of her dad. Crying could wait until later.

As she reached the house the sky opened up, and it was like the sky was crying for her.

* * *

Bella moved through her life with all the verve of a turnip. She went to class, she did her homework, and she cleaned. She made dinner and she went to work. But she rarely slept.

Every time she did, she saw him. He was a permanent fixture in her dreams and she couldn't make him go away.

She kept her promise; the most dangerous thing she did was cut chicken or fish for dinner. If only he could keep his, but his smell permeated her room for weeks after he left. Every time she looked at her cars stereo he was in her mind until, in a moment of misery, she had torn it from her dashboard. Every time she went to school his empty desk was another reminder. He was everywhere.

She started hanging out with Jacob to please her father; she didn't want him to worry. What she never knew was that he worried even more, because he knew how much she had loved _him_. She was so much like her father, and he knew what it was to love someone long after they were gone. He watched, hoping to see her grieve, but she kept everything inside her.

He hated Edward for leaving like he did. He had truly believed that Edward had loved his daughter. Then the rest of the Cullens too, along with him. Carlisle was gone and hadn't told anyone where he was going. Then Alice. He had been so fond of her, and she had been the best friend Bella had had since she moved here.

He wished there was something he could do for his daughter. It hurt him to see her like this. It had been 4 months, and he couldn't see any improvement. She just kept going about her daily routine like a robot. The weather was turning colder as well,and it looked like she was catching a cold. She was coughing.

"Morning dad," she said as she put a plate of eggs and toast if front of him.

"Bella, are you feeling okay?" he asked, worried.

"I'm just getting a cold. I'll wear an extra layer today." Her voice sounded hoarse in her own ears.

"Why don't you stay home, get some more sleep? Last thing I need is you to get pneumonia." He tried to make a joke of it, but he saw a sudden flash of pain in her eyes. He knew that look - she only got like that when she heard his name, or when something reminded her of him.

"You know, I think that's a good idea. Maybe I'll go get some Theraflu first, try to help clear my chest." But she knew nothing would clear the pressure in her chest….it had been her constant companion for months, that and the headaches she attributed to her time spent crying in the shower so Charlie wouldn't see. But his words had been an unintentional reminder of her promise. She needed to take care of herself for Charlie; it was her only purpose now.

"No, don't worry about it Bells. I'll bring you some later. You stay inside where it's warm, and just worry about getting better. I'll bring home something for dinner tonight."

"Okay, dad." They ate in peace until he left, then Bella grabbed a blanket off of her bed and went to lie on the couch. She knew she wouldn't sleep, that was something she didn't think was going to get easier anytime soon. She turned on the TV and began flipping through stations.

Her head was really bothering her today. It was hard to concentrate on what was on the screen. After an hour or two of trying to concentrate on the ridiculous cartoons, she felt her stomach turn over and raced to the bathroom.

She threw up everything she had eaten at breakfast, and that threw her into a fit of coughing that lasted several minutes. Finally she pulled herself to her feet and looked into the mirror. She turned away quickly.

She REALLY looked bad. She brushed her teeth and returned to the couch and curled up - she was freezing. Maybe it wasn't a cold, maybe she had caught the flu. Oh well…same drill: bundle up, rest, and lots of fluids. She wanted to take something for the headache, but she hated taking pills unless she couldn't avoid it.

She didn't know when she fell asleep but soon Charlie was shaking her awake. He had a steaming mug in his hand and handed it to her.

"I didn't know what flavor to get. I didn't even know they had different flavors." He chuckled lightly. "Citrus seemed safe."

"It's fine, dad." She sat up to sip at it. "Thank you. I would have made it myself."

"I know, but you should rest. You need your sleep if you're sick." She continued to drink her medicine; she remembered her mother used to call Theraflu '_potions_'. She was slightly surprised she hadn't dreamed at all, and by the look of it she had been out for hours.

"I think I have the flu, actually. It's in my stomach too."

"Well in that case, why don't you stay home a few days? You can get better, and there's less of a chance others at your school will get sick."

"Yeah, that sounds good. I'll call Angela and have her get my schoolwork so I won't get behind."

"Okay. Are you up for some soup? I brought home Chinese. But I don't think you're up for it. I can heat up some of the canned soup in the pantry."

"That would be great dad, thanks. I need to call Jacob, too. I was supposed to go down there tomorrow."

By the time she was done talking to Angela and Jacob, her dad had the soup waiting. She ate slowly, trying to decide if dinner would make the same return trip breakfast had.

"Jacob's going to come over tomorrow to baby-sit me. I tried to talk him out of it but he wouldn't listen."

"I'm glad someone will be here to help you. You take too much on yourself. Letting someone else take care of you for one day will help."

"I don't know about that. He's even more helpless in the kitchen than you are. But he is stubborn as a mule. I just hope he doesn't get sick."

"I'm sure he'll be fine."

* * *

Another month passed. While she hadn't thrown up again and the chills were gone, the cough still wouldn't go away. So she made an appointment and went to the local doctor. It stung a little when she saw the gray hair and brown eyes of Dr. Wilson instead of Carlisle. But she recovered quickly.

"It says here you have had a constant cough for the past few weeks, and you had the flu about the time it started." He set her chart down. "Okay, I'm going to listen to your lungs and we will go from there. It is perfectly normal for the cough to continue after the flu for several weeks while your body expels what's left from the virus."

He placed the stethoscope on her back

"Now take a deep breath…again…" he moved it lower. "Again…okay it sounds like you still have a lot of congestion in there. So I'm going to give you some antibiotics and some pain killers to help clear that out."

"Why do I need pain killers?"

"When the antibiotics start to clear the infection your cough will get worse and it will cause your chest to hurt. Trust me, you will want them then."

"Okay." She didn't think she would notice this new pain he spoke of. She had lived with a hole in her chest for so long.

Two weeks passed and she had finished her antibiotics. Her cough still wasn't better, and her head was getting worse. She decided to wait awhile…it would probably get better on its own.

She tried calling Jacob, but Billy kept telling her he was sick - he had caught the flu. She felt bad, thinking maybe he had caught it from her. She went to a movie with her friends from school in Port Angeles one day; they left early for a matinee. It was still light out as she drove back.

She didn't know what compelled her to do it, but when she saw the turn off that would lead to the Cullen house, she took it.

Bella knew it would be empty. His words echoed in her head. '_Like we never existed._' She shuddered at how clear the memory of his voice was. When she reached the clearing it was exactly as she remembered it. Except maybe the plants were a little taller. She stepped out of her trunk and walked over to the front steps. She sat down without looking in the windows…she didn't want to know if the house was empty or not. She felt the first tear fall, and soon she was sobbing.

She still didn't know what drove her to stop here; there was only pain here for her now. She heard a sudden movement over by the river and turned in that direction. She didn't see anything, but she knew somehow that she was being watched.

"Hello? Who's out there?" She watched the line of trees until she saw movement again. When she zeroed in on the source, her heart started pounding. He walked out of the trees like something feral, which may not have been far from the truth.

"Laurent." It wasn't a question - she knew immediately who he was. He had been part of James' pack, the vampire who had tried to kill her last year for Edwards's interest in her.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay here's chapter 2, I'm waiting for chapter 3 from my beta. It shouldn't be more than 3-4 days.

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Chapter 2 - The pain you live through and the pain you don't want to.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were in Alaska." She didn't move. She didn't want to look like prey, but he could probably hear her pounding heart from where he stood.

"I was. I quiet enjoyed the novelty of staying in one place for so long, however the restrictions were very difficult. So sometimes, I cheat."

"Oh, really? I know that Jasper has some trouble keeping to those restrictions, too." His red eyes were really scaring her now, and there was nothing she could do. She knew she couldn't outrun him. She began to think about her promise, and hoped that Charlie would be okay. She hoped Edward would forgive her.

"Did Victoria ever find you?" She asked him as she stood. She thought that maybe she could get to her car if he was distracted.

"Yes, actually. I'm here as a favor to her." He frowned slightly and glanced into the trees, then looked back. "She won't be happy with me…"

"Why is that?" Bella whispered

"Because I'm going to kill you. She really wanted to do that herself. You see, she's not happy with your Edward. James was her mate and Edward killed him."

Bella froze and nearly flinched at the mention of his name, but managed to keep her face looking calm…though she was anything but.

"She thinks it a fair trade. He killed her mate, now she will kill his. She asked me to do a little scouting for her. I didn't think it would be this easy to find you alone."

"I'm not his mate though, he's gone. They all are."

"I'm sure she will be angry all the same."

"They why not wait for her?" I was hoping to at least delay him.

"Unfortunately you came here at a very bad time, Bella. I was hunting and I happen to be very thirsty. You should thank me though, for finding you first. Victoria likes to play with her food. I'll make sure it's over quick…you wont feel a thing."

He began to advance on Bella slowly, deliberately. The next few moments were very confusing for Bella, as he stopped and looked behind her suddenly. He was scared. She didn't follow his gaze to see what could cause that reaction. She remembered someone once said what scares the scary is usually scarier. Soon enough she knew what it was - a large animal, what looked like a bear, walked past her left side. Bella would have screamed if she could have found her voice; instead, she just stumbled over her own feet in an attempt to move further from it.

It was taller than Bella by at least a foot; the way it walked looked almost canine. The snarl that came from its mouth revealed rows of sharp teeth. So it was a wolf and not a bear, but then how was it so big? Laurent was backing toward the trees trying to keep his eyes on the creature. Soon four more wolves came out of the woods, and one moved to stand right between her and Laurent. It didn't take long for Laurent to turn and run. He took off so fast she didn't even see him move, then the wolves were after him.

As soon as she was alone she ran for her truck. Her arms and legs were shaking, but she managed to get inside and slammed down the locks. Bella's hands were shaking so bad she had to use both hands to get the key in the ignition. It was dusk now, and she peeled her old truck out of there and drove home as fast as she could.

When Bella got home she thanked god that Charlie wasn't there. She didn't know how she would have explained this to him. She took a shower and let the hot water melt the ice from her limbs. By the time Charlie got home she had calmed down quite a bit, and was just finishing frying the fish.

* * *

Three weeks later, she woke in the middle of the night and her head hurt so bad she was crying. She stumbled to the bathroom and took two Tylenol out of the medicine cabinet. She took them there and sat on the floor, the only light in the bathroom coming though the door she had failed to close.

Bella hadn't heard from Jacob since he got sick a few weeks ago He said he didn't want to make her sick again, and so he hadn't come see her. But surely that didn't matter now, he couldn't still be contagious. With her head still pounding she made her way back to her room. Maybe she would call him in the morning and see if he wanted to come hang out. It was a Saturday, after all.

Hours later, she hadn't managed to go back to sleep. The pain was still too great, so she decided to go get more Tylenol since in had been awhile. As soon as she stood up, her vision tilted and she felt her stomach spasm violently. She barley made it to the toilet. Her father heard her and came in.

"Bella, are you okay?"

"I don't know dad…I think I need to see the doctor again."

* * *

Charlie took the day off and they went to the hospital first thing, because the regular doctor didn't have any appointments available until Tuesday.

The doctor who examined her looked tired and impatient.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Meyer. How long have the headaches been going on?"

"About two or three months. But they have never been as bad as they were this morning."

"Okay, and you said the cough has been persisting for how long?"

"A little longer. I went to the doctor and he gave me antibiotics. I just figured it would go away eventually."

"Well, I'm going to send you to X-ray. We need to see what's going on in your lungs. Also I'm going to have a nurse draw some blood to check for chemical imbalances to explain the headaches."

Bella felt her head get light when they took the blood. Thankfully she didn't have to smell it. An hour later another doctor came in looking worried.

"Hello. I'm Dr. Andrews." He was holding what looked like x-ray film. "Dr. Meyer handed your case over to me."

"Why?" Bella asked. Her father was sitting in a chair by her exam table.

"Something showed up on the X-ray and we are going to need to run more tests." Charlie stood up abruptly from his chair

"Why? What's going on?"

"We don't know yet, we need to run the blood tests. The results should be back in a week."

"What are you looking for?" Bella asked quietly.

The doctor looked like he hated this part.

"Cancer."

* * *

Bella lay in bed that night just staring at the ceiling. She knew Charlie was downstairs staring at the TV. Neither of them knew what to say. She felt suddenly that she had Alice's ability; she knew somehow what the tests would say in a week. Dr. Andrews had explained about the shadows on her X-ray, but she hadn't been able to hear him after that one word.

'_Cancer_'. Such a small word. Such a terrifying word.

Bella had called her mom. She had cried into the phone for over an hour, she told her all she could remember. Then she promised to call again as soon as she knew more.

She had tried to call Jacob again that evening. She really needed her friend, the only one who kept the darkness at bay these last few months. He had finally answered the phone, but the words weren't those of her best friend. He was cold; he told her they couldn't be friends anymore. She didn't understand. She had tried to reason with him, but then he said, '_I'm not good for you, Bella_.'

The words were so similar to those someone else had once said to her that she hung up. She had spent the next hour crying on her bed, holding her chest like she could keep the pieces together with sheer will power.

The next day, she returned to her robotic state. She couldn't let herself think or she knew she would fall apart at the seams. If Charlie worried about her sudden repression he didn't say anything, and for that she was grateful. If someone asked her how she made it through that week she wouldn't have been able to answer. But next thing she knew, she and her dad were heading back to the hospital to go over the results. She didn't eat anything that morning, she couldn't. They waited in the room for the doctor, and as soon as he walked through the door Bella could see what she would hear written on his face.

"It's what we thought." He got right to the point. "The blood tests confirm cancer. We need to do an MRI to get a better view of what we are dealing with."

Her father and the doctor started talking about tests and treatments, but the doctor said they wouldn't know how to treat it until they knew more.

She couldn't help but feel Fate was catching up to her. How many times should she have died now? First Edward that first day in biology, then Tyler's car, then James, then Jasper, and now Laurent… she almost laughed at the fact that almost every time it was a vampire. Maybe that was supposed to be her Fate all along, and now fate was making sure she didn't escape again. She still didn't understand how she had escaped the last one.

She lost track of the conversation, she didn't want to hear anymore. She wanted to scream, she wanted to curl up in a ball and just cry. The numbness she had felt when Edward had first left began to cloud her senses again. She didn't know what to think anymore, the cancer was supposedly in or around her heart. Maybe you could die of a broken heart; he had done a good enough job of breaking it.

The next thing she knew they were having her change her clothes and helping her onto the table of the MRI machine. The next weeks were a blur of tests and school (because she insisted) and long periods of sleep. The pain medicine worked wonders on her head, but they made her really sleepy. Her friends at school started to get suspicious; she hadn't told any of them. She didn't know how.

One day she went and saw The Bucket List with Angela, and when she asked why Bella started crying the truth came spilling out in a rush. Angela drove home that night and she took Jacobs place. She held Bella together while she fell apart.

Bella fell asleep that night a dreamed of red eyes chasing her, of lying on a white bed attached to machines, of backpacking through Europe, of Edward as they once had been. When she woke up she felt foggy, and tried to remember the last images from her dream. But they were gone, drifting away like smoke through her fingers.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello to all my readers, I would just like to say I love you guys, you have been great. Sorry it took so long to post this my computer is acting up and I cant log into . I'm using a friends computer to do this. Thank you to all of you who added my story to their favorites and all of you who reviewed. Now that I'm done gushing on with the show. As for those of you who cried you haven't seen nothing yet.

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Chapter 3 – Last wishes

Her next visit to the doctor came quickly. She looked at the calendar on her wall and thought '_has it really only been just over a month since that first X-ray._' It seemed both longer and shorter. The time and flown, she hadn't seemed to notice it passing. But looking back it seemed like years ago. She didn't know how, but word of her illness had gotten out and the whole town knew. She shouldn't have been surprised, it was a very small town.

She didn't even look at her doctor when he entered the room. She knew she would see something on his face, and she wanted to put this news off as long as possible…even if it was only a few seconds.

"I'm sorry."

The first tear fell, and she knew more were coming.

"There's nothing we can do. The cancer's aggressive. It's in her lungs and it metastasized into her head, and it's what's causing the headaches."

Tears fell silently down her cheeks, but she didn't make a sound.

"Can you remove it?" Charlie asked.

"No. It's not in a place we can do that."

"What about other treatments?" Charlie was crying, too. I could hear it in his voice.

"Even with chemo, it wouldn't go away. It's too large for that."

I reached over and took my fathers hand. He turned and looked at me. His eyes were agonized. I pulled him closer and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"How long do I have?" Bella asked.

"You will probably start having seizures in the next two months. We can give you medication to minimize them, but the pain will get worse as time goes on…I'd say six, maybe ten months."

"Thank you, doctor."

Bella drove home, because of the two of them she was the most collected. She felt deep down she had known this would end her. Hadn't she stayed up one night thinking Fate had decided she would not escape again? Bella made the call to her mother and had to calm her down. She tried saying Bella should come down to Florida, that they would find a different doctor, that she should get a second opinion.

She raved for two hours while Bella tried to calmly explain that it wasn't going to do anything. Florida wouldn't make her better, and there had been three doctors already who had all agreed that there was no way to remove the cancer. Bella hung up feeling drained, but she had promised her mother she would visit the following week. She really didn't feel like wasting the rest of her time chasing miracles.

She accepted her death. Now she had to help her parents do the same.

* * *

A month later she opened the door to find most of her friends from school. Though she hadn't been going, the morphine the doctors had her on made her alternately high and sick. So she had been doing all her work at home, and her teachers had been very understanding.

"Hey, guys. What are you doing here?" Angela stood at the front, and behind her were Tyler, Mike, Ben and Jessica.

"We haven't seen you lately since you haven't been in school, so we came to you. Don't worry, I already talked to your dad - he's fine with it. We have pizza, sodas, ice cream, movies…the whole party." It was obvious they were here to lift her spirits, but you could see the hint of sadness on each face.

"Okay, but I'm not cleaning up."

The movie marathon lasted hours; they had Transformers, Ironman, Italian job, Scorpion King and The Spiderwick Chronicles.

After everyone else had left Angela began cleaning up.

"Thanks Angela." She smiled at Bella as she picked up the various mugs from the living room table.

"I know it doesn't change anything, but I thought a few hours of normal would make you feel better."

"It did."

They sat together on the couch after everything was cleaned up.

"I know it sounds stupid. He doesn't love me, but I wish I could see him, hear his voice one more time." Bella didn't have to say his name…Angela knew who she was talking about.

"You love him. There's nothing stupid about that. Most girls wait a lifetime to feel a fraction of what you felt. Even if he didn't feel the same."

"I do love him. I'll never regret knowing him because as much as this hurts still, the idea of never having known him at all is so much worse…you know, he tried to say I'd forget him someday. I don't think you can forget that kind of love. I think it stays in your soul for the rest of time."

"I envy you."

Bella looked at Angela like she was nuts.

"Hear me out. Girls are conditioned from a young age to believe in things like '_love at first sight_,' '_true love_,' and '_soul mates._' As we grow up those ideas are torn from us," Angela looked down and when she continued, she was very quiet. "You know that better than most. Still, you at least knew for a short time what it was like to love like that. Dream or not, you got a taste of it." She took Bella hand and squeezed. "Not everyone is destined to feel that strongly, I envy you that."

Bella had tears running down her cheeks but she smiled

"You say that now, but if you knew the daily pain, just to breathe, you might not feel that way. This sounds bad, but I'm almost glad that the pain will be over soon…sure, I wish I had more time. I wish I could see if maybe someday I can forget, if I can move on. But even now I can't hear his voice in my head like I used to, and that's painful. Sometimes my time seems to drag, and other times it races. You know I always wanted to see Europe; London, Paris, Rome, Athens…maybe, if I had a little more time-and the money- I would."

Just outside the living room Charlie had come down the stairs to check on the girls, but had stopped to listen. Her last wishes pulled at his heart. He slowly moved back up the stairs…he had a lot to think about.

"Okay, enough depression," Angela suddenly said. "I'm here to take you mind off such things. How 'bout now the boys are gone..." She pulled three more movies out of her bag. "Chick flicks!"

Bella laughed in spite of herself.

"Okay, let me see what you're going to subject me too." She looked through the movies; The Love Guru, Made of Honor, and Fools Gold. "Okay, but if I start crying it's your fault."

"They're all stupid romantic comedies - I checked. So, which one do you want to watch first?"

"How 'bout we go with Fools Gold?"

* * *

It was the first week of May when Bella had her first seizure.

She was rushed to the hospital by Angela, and they kept her overnight. It was mild, so they let her go and changed the dosages on her medicines. They lowered her pain meds due to the side effects, and raised her seizure meds.

It allowed her to spend more time outside with her friends. She didn't get as sick or sleepy now, but the pain was still manageable.

A few days later, her father came home early from work.

"Bella, come here. I want to talk to you."

"Okay Dad." She came into the living room and sat on the couch.

"I heard you talking with Angela a few weeks ago…I heard about how you wanted to see Europe."

"Dad, it's okay. It's a pipe dream. I'm fine here."

"It doesn't have to be. I set some money aside a few years ago…for your college…" She heard her father choke on the words. "It's yours as soon as you graduate this June. I want you to take it and go see Paris, Rome, and all the other places you talked about. I don't want you to have that regret." She watched her father, one of the strongest men in her life, cry.

"Dad, why didn't you tell me?"

"It was going to be a graduation gift. It still is. I want you to do this for me, okay? Just one favor…take pictures and send them back, so we can see what you see back here. I'm also getting you a cell phone, so that you can call me and tell me where you are in case -"

"I know Dad, I will." She was shocked. She didn't know what to say, so she just stood up and hugged her father from behind. "Thank you."

* * *

The following day Bella drove to La Push to talk to Jacob. No matter what he said or did, he helped her in those first few months. He would always be a friend, and she wanted to talk to him anyway.

When she arrived at his house he wasn't there, but Billy was. He opened the door and wheeled himself back to make room for her to enter.

"He's not here Bella."

"Do you know where he is? I really want to talk to him."

"He knows Bella, your father told me." He shook his head. "Everyone down here knows you're sick."

"Why hasn't he called me back? I know he's not sick."

"What's happening to you makes him angry, and he doesn't want to be around you while he's angry. He doesn't want you to see him like that."

"I don't care how I see him. I just want to see my friend. I miss him…the hikes, the time in his garage, and the trips to the beach." She began coughing hard and had to sit down for a moment.

"He misses you, too. And I think that may be one of the problems. He will always miss you."

"Just tell him I would like to see him before I leave. I want to say goodbye. I'm leaving for Europe June 15th. I don't know if I'll be back."

"I'll tell him. In the meantime, I have something for you."

He wheeled to a desk by the kitchen and opened one of the bottom drawers. "Our people believe wolves are spirit warriors, driven always to protect our lands. I want you to wear this…perhaps it will protect you on your trip."

She was instantly reminded of the five giant wolves she had seen the day she ran into Laurent. She took the necklace and looked at it closely.

A rope about ¼ of an inch looked like red brown threads spun, then braided, and there were four large teeth attached to it using thin leather cords.

"More of your superstitions?" She laughed, even though she had questions burning in the back of her mind. These were too big to be from any normal wolf, but the giants she saw…she was almost positive these came from one or more of those creatures.

"Just indulge an old man his beliefs. I'll worry about you when you're alone over there."

"Okay Billy. I'll wear it." What could it hurt? She slipped it over her head and pulled her hair through.

* * *

Bella spent the next few weeks preparing for her trip - packing, planning, and getting maps and ideas of where to visit from her friends and family. Some of her friends also made donations to her travel fund once they found out. She tried to turn them down, but they wouldn't be dissuaded.

She continued her school work and breezed through her finals. On the last day of school she walked into the lunch room, and there were banners on every wall all displaying the same line:

"Goodbye Bella, Enjoy your Journey!"

There were several cakes and cameras, and everyone in the school was inside.

She started to cry as soon as she saw the display. Angela walked over and took her hand.

"I tried to convince them not to," she whispered to Bella. "This is Mike and Jessica's doing. They didn't think it through very much."

"It's fine, let them have closure their own way. I'm not upset about the banners. Although you're right…they are really bad." She just laughed. Mike...he never meant harm, but he wasn't one of the best or brightest to be sure.

Everyone ate cake, and she couldn't help thinking this was some kind of living wake, if that were possible. It was more a celebration of life, of her time here in Forks, and all the people she had known.

She should have been sad, or angry, or even disgusted. However she couldn't find any of those…her heart ached a little for the faces she had met here that she didn't see.

'_Will they ever know what happened to me_?' She thought. '_Will they find out and understand Fate didn't like being beaten all those times? If they do ever come back I'll probably never know, still I wish I could see all of them just once before… I wish I could tell Edward one matter what he thought of him self he was always my hero_.'

Now she was getting depressed, and her friends were trying to take her mind off it. '_If they're determined to try, I'm determined to let them. At least until lunch is over_.'

Bella's last final barely registered in her mind. She didn't freak out at all. She couldn't find a reason to worry about them too much. With everything else, it was laughable that she had ever squirmed over these tests.

* * *

It was June 9th.

Bella would be leaving for Europe in less than a week. She drove straight home from school to drop off her truck. Angela was meeting her there, and together they were going to drive to Seattle to pick up her mother - who would be staying at a hotel for the rest of the week so she could see her daughter off.

Renee didn't let go of Bella from the moment she stepped off the plane until they all got into Angela's sedan. She had been opposed to Bella spending her last months in Europe, so far from her family. She wanted so much to be selfish and say she couldn't go, but Charlie had called and explained the night he overheard the conversation about Bella's wishes.

After that, she knew Charlie was right - they couldn't give her anything but this. Bella seemed so strong to Renee, sitting in the front seat and talking to Angela. You could see her illness though, in the tint of her skin; you could see the weight she had lost, and the tightening around her eyes that showed she was still in constant pain.

She felt a single tear slide down her cheek for her daughter. '_No teenager should have to be this strong_.' And she knew in that single drive that she was only this strong because she had to be. She felt equal parts pride in the young woman she raised, and grief for the little girl who grew up too fast.

* * *

Time, as always when there is something coming, moved quickly…and June 15th arrived. Bella still hadn't seen Jake, but she hadn't expected to. It had been months since her friend had stopped speaking to her. The hole in her chest left by Edward still throbbed and frayed, the one left by Jake seemed a testament to her inability to keep anyone she felt she could love.

She was hugged, and passed from person to person in a seemingly endless line. She felt several things tucked into her carry-on, and some into her pockets. She laughed at her family and friends attempts at subtlety. Then with a last hug from her father and a kiss from her mother, she turned and headed into security.

It was easy enough getting through. She placed all the gifts from her friends in her carry-on before it was her turn and decided to open them while she was on the plane. The agent got a little fidgety when they found her pain medicine, but she showed them the proper paperwork from the hospital and they let her through. An hour later as the plane was taking off, she finally let her guard down. She closed her eyes and just sighed.

It was done. She was going to Europe.

She hoped she was doing the right thing. She worried still about her parents, but she no longer had to pretend to be unaffected.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello to all my wonderful readers and reviewers, this post is coming a little earlier than I had planned because it's almost 2 in the morning and I'm afraid to close my eyes. I was driving home from a friend's house very late tonight and a woman **tried** to commit suicide using my car. She is now in the hospital and hopefully she will be alright eventually, thankfully the cars missed her. I'm the kind of person who has difficulty with the idea of hitting a cat; nearly hitting a human has me rightfully shaken. I have never been more thankful my father taught me about cars and I check my own brakes regularly.

Chapter 4 – The painter and the blind one

* * *

Alice paced back and forth in the kitchen.

She had a vision that Edward would finally be calling today to check in. She knew always where he was, but he had made his wishes very clear when he had left - he didn't want to be disturbed.

Now, however, she really needed to talk to him.

He wouldn't be pleased, and he might hang up on her. But if he did, to hell with his rules. She would track him down anyway and force him to listen.

Jasper was sitting a few feet away trying to calm his wife. He knew what she needed to speak to Edward about; they had been together the night she had the vision. She had been trying ever since to see what was coming, but something was blocking her. Through his gift he felt every moment of her frustration.

Alice thought back on her vision. Bella had been hiking, an odd occurrence on its own, but Alice recognized the hills of southern France. Bella looked at her watch - it said July 21st. Bella looked thinner in the vision…her face hollowed out and worn.

Then, without warning ,she dropped to the ground and began seizing. There was no one near, and Alice watched in horror as Bella died alone. That was the beginning of May.

The strange thing was less than an hour later she had another vision, and in this one Bella had been sightseeing in Ireland…but the date on her watch was the same. This time she didn't die, she never even flinched.

Alice shook off the images in her mind.

She had tried without success since to see Bella's future, but she could only see blurry fragments. She had seen Bella lying in a hospital bed, standing in Notre Dame. Once she had a vision where she couldn't see anything, but thought she heard Bella's voice speaking to someone with a thick German accent.

Then came the vision that had made her decision to speak to Edward before she acted. To Alice it looked like she was seeing it through a thin film of water. Bella was in Volterra.

Emmett and Rosalie were out hunting, Carlisle and Esme were at the hospital. They all knew something had been bothering Alice for weeks, but they had gotten no answer when they asked besides. '_I don't know yet_.'

Jasper was about to suggest that Alice sit when she suddenly jumped at the phone. It started to ring right as she picked it up.

"Edward, you need to come back here."

Jasper could hear Edward's voice on the other line. He seemed to have noticed the urgency in Alice's voice, and everyone knew to listen when she was like that.

"Why, what's going on Alice? Are you guys in trouble?"

"No, Edward it's not us…it's Bella." She was prepared for him to be mad at her; she had promised not to look in on Bella.

"What happened? What's wrong? Is she hurt?"

Jasper almost laughed at his brother. He had had to live through Edwards grief those first few months after the family left Forks - he knew better than anyone what that had done to his brother.

"I don't know, Edward. That's why I need you back here, we need to talk about this…and then probably go to Forks to figure it out."

"What do you mean? Alice just tell me what you have seen."

"That's just it, Edward. What I have seen doesn't make sense, and most of it is blurry. Like her future is something I'm watching on an old broken television. Please Edward, come home so we can figure this out."

"I'll be home before tomorrow night."

Alice sighed.

"You will be home by 2pm."

"I'll take your word on that - I don't know how long it will take me to get a flight."

"Head to the airport. Your ticket will be waiting, and your flight leaves at 10pm."

"Thanks Alice." And with that he hung up.

Jasper held his arms open. Alice folded herself onto his lap and put her head on his chest.

"You didn't tell him about Volterra." He stated.

"No. He will find out soon enough, he's scared enough without thinking about her being in their hands. Besides, what would you have done if it was me?"

"I would have headed straight there without waiting for anyone else."

"Exactly. If that is the case, we need to learn more first. This has never happened before. We need to find out if Bella's even in Europe…with my visions the way they are, she might be at home making dinner right now."

"Is that really what you believe?"

"No."

* * *

Bella was really enjoying herself, more then she thought she would since she was alone. It turned out to be a blessing. She didn't have to be strong when she didn't feel like it, she could change direction and go to a different town whenever she felt she was done. She kept her promise - she called her father whenever she moved on and sent pictures back at least once a week.

She kept all her things in a rolling duffel bag, and at her father's insistence kept her IDs and money in a flat pouch that hung crossways over her body and lay flat to her stomach under her shirt. She had her bad days where the pain of loss and illness made her depressed.

On one of those afternoons she was sitting in a park in Paris and didn't realize someone was watching. Hours passed, and she just watched as people young and old, happy and not happy passed by her spot on the bench by some fountains.

Sometime near dusk, she felt a tap on her shoulder and looked up to find a woman standing over her shoulder.

"May I help you?" Bella asked.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you that. You look so…I don't know…sad doesn't seem quite right." She had a French accent, but her English was exceptional.

"I'm fine, really. Just thinking."

"You have been thinking for quite some time. My name is Magalie, I'm a painter." That was the first time Bella noticed the canvas frame held in the woman's hand. "That is why I come here sometimes; I find the most intriguing things to capture."

"And what did you capture today, Magalie?" Bella asked.

"You, actually. You have a very classic look to your face." She turned the canvas to show Bella. She was speechless; she had never believed herself beautiful, but this was glorious. The figure in the painting looked timeless, and while there was a slightly sad feeling to the painting she had a small smile on her face.

"It's beautiful. That must have taken hours."

"Not as long as some people think. What's your name?"

"Oh I'm sorry… I'm Bella."

"It's nice to meet you. Are you staying in Paris long?"

"I honestly don't know, and that has been the greatest part of this trip. I don't have a schedule."

"Really? Don't you have a set time when you have to return home?" Magalie watched as some secret passed Bella's eyes and felt she knew now why she had pulled at her.

"No, but I don't think I'll ever return home."

Magalie thought over that one.

"Well in that case, how would you like to come back to my flat and see some of my other work?"

"Okay."

Bella ended up staying in Paris for over a week. Magalie showed her around and used her for several more art pieces. She learned during that time of Bella's illness. Magalie was wonderful, she reminded Bella so much of her friends for home. She learned Magalie had been a foreign exchange student for a year in America, and that's where she learned her English.

They toured several art galleries, and Bella was amazed at some of the work. She stopped for a long time at one particular painting, and soon Magalie came to see what her friend was looking at.

It was a portrait of a tall man with pale skin and dark hair.

She recognized the man in the painting immediately, from the painting in Carlisle's study. This was Marcus from the painting she had seen of the Volturi. The caption read St. Marcus.

"You like this one?" Magalie asked. "No one knows who painted it, that's why it's in this room. This area is reserved for unknown artists."

Bella shook off the stupor; she was bound to see something that reminded her of her own vampires eventually.

By the end of the week Bella decided she wanted to move on to Italy. She and Magalie said goodbye, and as a parting gift Magalie gave her three canvases: one was the painting from the first day, the second two were obviously painted from memory. One was of her leaning against the railing looking out at the river, her hair drifting in the light breeze. The other she was seated at the café she had met Magalie at every morning. She sent them home, the one from the café to her mother and the other two to her father.

* * *

She found she really liked Italy. There was so much to see, she spent 4 days in Rome alone. She went and saw a few of the places Magalie had recommended. Still, she was surprised when she realized 7 days later she was still there. She had changed cities twice but she still didn't feel like she wanted to leave yet. She spent days just walking around the cities.

She was in Florence the first time she felt like she was being watched. She brushed it off easily enough - no one knew her here and there was no reason for it. She figured Laurent was dead, and even if Victoria did somehow find out she was in Europe it was unlikely she would know where.

Her mother called when she got the painting, and cried over it for a while. They talked about how her trip was going; she got regular phone calls same as Charlie, but she still felt it wasn't enough.

Bella knew this would be hard on her parents. At least her mother had someone to lean on once it happened, but Bella worried most about her father, who had no one. She knew he seemed stronger than he was, but under the gruff she knew he was in just as much pain.

She went to the beach on her tenth day in Italy, and again got the impression she was being watched. She looked around for the source of the chill running down her spine, but never found it. She turned back to the water and relaxed again. Someone was probably looking at her in passing; she was so pale, she probably looked very out of place.

The figure watching her sat in a car with tinted windows. He had been told to watch this girl carefully, but not to approach. They had picked up the scent in Rome, this girl was very obviously human, but there was the subtle smell of werewolf clinging to her as well. That night she was planning on heading to Greece when a brochure caught her eye in the shop she was getting lunch at.

The name of the castle brought back several memories, both painful and pleasant. Without thinking about it too much, she grabbed the brochure, got in her car and headed to Volterra.

* * *

Alice was waiting outside their house in Denali when Edward drove up at 1:54pm. It was obvious that she was guarding her thoughts.

"What's going on, Alice?"

"You should come inside and sit down for this." She had visions of him falling to his knees…not that it would hurt him, but she still thought this might be easier inside.

Once they reached the kitchen and the rest of the family had joined them, she began to speak.

"I had a vision about Bella at the beginning of May." She felt Edward tense beside her. "I saw her die."

Jasper winced at the rage and pain coming off of Edward.

"She's not dead, Edward," Jasper said, trying with words and his gift to calm his brother.

"Why didn't you tell us Alice?" This came from Carlisle.

"Because it was less than an hour later when I had another vision. It was the same day, but Bella was in a different place - a whole different country. This time she was fine, she had no problems at all."

"How can that be?" Edward looked just as confused as Alice.

"I don't know what's going on, but I have been trying to see Bella ever since. It's like someone put up a screen between us - sometimes I can only hear things, like her voice talking to someone else. Sometimes I see brief images that don't make sense. Mostly it looks like I'm trying to see her through a thin sheet of water, or a static covered television."

"There must be some way we can find out how she is." Esme looked just as worried as if one of them was missing. Rosalie spoke up.

"We have to go to Forks. Whatever is happening, the first step has to be there. Even if she is somewhere else, her father would know."

Everyone looked puzzled at Rosalie; she had never made her disproval of Bella a secret.

"I know how much she means to you. And while I may not like the danger of a human knowing our secret, or the idea of turning someone who has a chance at a normal life…I want you happy, Edward. More than anything else."

"I think she's right. Alice, Edward and I are going to return to Forks to speak to Charlie. Everyone else, be ready as soon as we know anything." Carlisle said.

"There's one more thing…"

Edward looked at Alice and immediately began to worry. She was reciting the Japanese alphabet in her mind.

"What aren't you telling us, Alice?"

"One of the visions I had…I saw Bella in Volterra."

She whispered the last part, but everyone in the room heard. Then, several things happened at once.

Edward jumped up as if to leave, and Emmett, Jasper and Carlisle were all holding him.

"Let me go! If she's anywhere near them I have to find her."

"Edward, we still don't know if she's even in Italy. You need to calm down…Jasper, please?" Edward felt the anger leave his body slowly, and stopped struggling.

"Okay. Obviously this is something that has to happen quickly. Rosalie, what's the fastest car we have?"

"Volvo, needs new breaks, it won't make it to Forks if Edward drives. Take my Mustang."

"Thank you." Edward said as Alice and Carlisle disappeared. Rosalie grabbed Edwards arm.

"Bring her back, Edward. She means a lot to this family."

He smiled at his sister then ran to the car. Alice had the driver door waiting open for him. He got in and they took off towards Washington.

About halfway there, Alice had another vision. Edward watched it play out as she saw it.

The vision looked like a painting splashed with water. He could still make out Bella walking through some kind of garden. He couldn't make out the scenery around her; it was blurs of grays and greens and light blues. The vision swam clearer for a moment and he saw Bella with perfect clarity, but where she was still wasn't clear enough. He watched as she dropped the ice cream she had been eating and fell onto a nearby bench, holding her head. Her face contorted in pain. Then the whole thing blurred out again.

"Shit." He heard Alice curse in the backseat.

'_My thoughts exactly_,' He thought as he pushed further down on the accelerator.

* * *

Bella arrived in Volterra just before midnight.

As she drove past the main gate, she felt the briefest moment of fear. She knew that there were vampires here, and she told herself that was the reason behind her sudden discomfort. But she also knew that they didn't hunt within their own walls, so she should be safe.

Bella found the inn quickly and got a room.

She set her things on the bed and took a shower. When she got out she sat on the bed brushing her hair, and wondered what she would see the next day. The shower had calmed her nerves, and now she was ready to laugh at herself for being so silly.

She didn't realize how tangled her hair had gotten; it had been windy that morning. She pulled her brush through a large tangle and accidentally broke the necklace Billy had given her. She frowned at it for a moment, then took a Ziploc bag from her duffel. She normally used them for snacks while traveling, but she didn't want the gift from Billy to break any further. She would carry it in her pocket from now on…she hoped that Billy would approve.


	5. Chapter 5

Okay this chapter was a little short but it didn't make sense cutting it any other way so here it is I hope you all enjoy. Again thank you all so much for your support, I'm very happy to say I have gotten over 30 reviews and NO flames. Eleven reviews for chapter 4 in one day alone. You guys are great and make writing more enjoyable.

Chapter 5 – Eternity or no?

* * *

Bella was eating ice cream, touring one of the many gardens around Volterra, when she felt her head split open. She fell onto one of the benches while she reached blindly inside her purse. The only thing in it was maps, her camera, several rolls of film she hadn't developed yet, a bottle of water - and a small pill box with some of her pain killers.

She managed to wash down the pain killers and sat on the bench, waiting for them to take effect. The vampire who had been following her had finally been told to bring her in to Caius. Since she was now in Volterra, they didn't want to take the chance she was acting as a spy for werewolves.

He continued to watch her throughout the day, and once night fell he approached her. He waited until she was walking back to her hotel and grabbed her from behind.

She didn't even have time to scream before they were inside.

Bella struggled in his grasp, but he barely felt it. It only took him two minutes to get her into the council room. He dumped her on the floor before standing a few feet away.

The first thing she noticed was the cold, then the three figures seated in high backed chairs against the round wall. There were others standing nearby, all wearing cloaks, but as her eyes adjusted she could see the red eyes staring at her from all around the room.

"Ah, so here is our guest - the one we have been hearing so much about," came a cold voice from somewhere to the right. Bella decided to play dumb; it wouldn't help her to tell these people she knew what they were. However, it might be harmful to ones she still cared about.

"Where am I?"

"Do not worry my dear, you are still in Volterra. I'm sure you're quite frightened." This voice was almost sickly sweet compared to the first, and it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

"What do you want with me?"

Caius sat stiffly in his chair. His spy had told him the girl had smelled of werewolf, and while he admitted to himself there was a small trace, it seemed the girl probably bumped into one somewhere. Still, he wanted to be sure she wasn't some kind of spy herself.

He was very displeased. They had no choice now but to kill this girl, but it would look poorly on their city if she were to disappear from here.

He passed this thought to Aro sitting next to him, and Aro nodded. Then he whispered too low for Bella to hear.

'_Yes, it does seem you are right about the scent. However, there are other ways to check just, as you say, to be sure_.'

'_Marcus, what say you_?' Caius asked in the same tone.

'_She seems harmless_.' Even as he said this, there was something tugging at him about this girl. A connection, a strong one at that, but he was amazed at its strength. He had never seen this in a human.

'_Still, we must know_.' This again was Caius. This whole conversation took place in less than twenty seconds.

Aro nodded to Alec, who was standing near the door. Through the gloom he saw Jane grin; he knew how she loved to play, and that she was hoping to be able to play with this one.

A thin mist began to move over the floor, and when it touched Bella she didn't move.

Alec's brow creased as he watched her. People normally screamed at the sudden sensory deprivation. But she looked only as scared as she had been before. Aro seemed to notice, too.

"Interesting…" he said to himself. "Young woman, can you still see me?" He said again in his overly pleasant voice.

Bella was getting more and more confused by the fact that they hadn't killed her yet. What did they want?

"Of course I can still see you, why wouldn't I?" She was trying to sound brave. All the things Edward had ever told her about vampires began to play through her head. '_Don't act like prey_.' '_Sudden movement draws our attention_.' '_Most vampires feed off of fear as well_.'

"How very intriguing." Aro stood and seemed to glide forward. "What is your name?"

"Bella Swan."

"Bella, ah…such an appropriate name as well, _Beautiful_. My name is Aro." When he walked into the light from the torches, she saw he was even paler than the vampires she had known. His skin so translucent it appeared it may tear if he moved too fast. She thought back to the painting from Carlisle's office - the likeness was perfect.

"It's not like that, it's short for Isabella." She was going to start babbling soon; Edward always told her she was a silly little lamb. Now she really understood why. She was in a room full of vampires who weren't 'vegetarians' and she was correcting one of them.

"Well, it is of no matter. My dear girl, if you would indulge me. I have, a gift we will say. I can, with a touch, see into the minds of others. My brothers and I are very curious about you –"

"Why would you be curious about me?" she blurted without thinking. '_There you go again Bella, stupid little LAMB_.' She thought. She heard one of the figures in the shadows speak darkly.

"_You really don't have to ask her_."

"Ah my dear Caius, we all have our manners." Then he turned back to Bella. "How else would we be thought civilized?"

She suppressed a shudder. She wondered, in a small part of her mind, about the last figure seated. She knew this must be Marcus, for she now knew the one on the right was Caius, though she couldn't see.

"Please my dear, if you would just give me your hand we can surely move this inquiry right along."

She wasn't sure she wanted to speed things up, but knowing that she wasn't really being given a choice, she stepped forward and gave Aro her hand.

He bent his head over her hand as if to kiss the back, but she could see a look of concentration pass over his face a moment before he lifted his head. He turned to the others, still holding her hand.

His hand was cold, just a stone in hers as any other vampire. She refused to pull hers back. She didn't know if it was fear, courage, or Edwards long ago warnings that kept her frozen still as a statue.

"Caius, Marcus. Will you believe I cannot read her? Her mind is as blank to me as the dead."

She mentally flinched at the choice of words. So Edward wasn't the only one who couldn't read her mind. The figure she now knew to be Caius came forward almost faster than Bella could see, and now he stood in the glow of another torch.

"**What**?" Caius roared, "How can this be? Immune to both you and the boy?"

"Calm yourself brother, calm. Perhaps another test then, Jane dear?"

Bella saw one of the small cloaked figures move towards Aro. She wondered who 'the boy' was and what she had missed. The girl who approached now was no bigger than Alice - shapeless as a boy, and almost eerie in her lack of expression.

"Yes master?" She said. He gestured to Bella.

"If you would."

Bella saw the gleam enter Jane's eye as she turned, and her smile was suddenly evil. She had a moment to ponder what this little girl was going to do before her face turned surprised, then angry, all within moments. She looked ready to lunge at Bella in her frustration.

"Ah, calm yourself little one." Aro held onto Jane's shoulder.

At this point Marcus had stood and joined his brothers in the light. He looked exactly like his painting in Paris, and in Carlisle's office.

Bella could tell that Aro was getting very excited about something.

"Can you imagine, a shield of this strength in human form? Imagine the potential, Caius." She saw the anger slowly drain from Caius' face. He seemed to be giving what his brother had said some serious thought.

She saw Marcus briefly touch Aro's hand, and Aro's head shot up. She understood quickly that Marcus was telling Aro something privately.

"Really? Even more interesting."

"What?" asked Caius.

"It seems Marcus feels that Bella is in love," Bella hung her head, trying not to think of him. "Yet he has never seen this kind of bond in a mortal." He finished.

"Entirely one-sided, let me assure you." She put in, wanting to turn the conversation no matter what the cost.

'_We should make her one of us_.' Caius whispered.

'_I do agree. She will make a wonderful addition. A shield like her shall be most useful_.'

Marcus merely nodded his head.

"Isabella dear," began Aro. "Do you have any idea what we are?"

She debated playing dumb some more, but it seemed they were done playing with her.

"I think you're vampires."

"Why would you think that?"

She began to list the same reasons she had given when she had guessed this the first time.

"Your skin is pale, and ice cold. Another is your eyes. You're fast and…" at this point she turned directly to Marcus. "I saw a painting in Paris. It was Saint Marcus - you. You looked exactly as you do now, but the painting had to be at least 200 years old. It fits. It's the only thing that fits."

"Are you afraid?" Caius asked.

She turned and looked at him.

"No." And in truth, she realized she wasn't anymore. She was going to die anyway, whether here and now or in another month…it was going to happen. She got a perverse kind of pleasure that Fate had finally managed to right itself. She would die by vampire, like she should have so many times.

"Why is that?" Aro asked. "Why do you not scream?"

"I'm dying. I have cancer." She stated simply. "I'm touring Europe because I always wanted to. I'll be dead in the next two months anyway. If you kill me now, it doesn't matter. I accepted a long time ago."

Marcus puzzled on this. She was so strange for a human. Her mind was so much stronger than a normal human, her heart too. He had never met a human that had truly accepted death - even those who seemed ready rarely were in those last moments. Where did this young woman, barely more than a child, get such strength?

"You don't have to, Bella," Aro said. "You can live forever…as one of us."

Bella's felt a small pull at that, the dream she had held on so tight to. This was the dream she had given up, and it was being given back to her.

"What?"

"We could make you one of us." The dark temptation of Caius' voice was so different now than his anger. He seemed almost seductive now. "You will remain young forever, beautiful forever."

She thought about his words. Forever…did she really want that now? Forever without Edward?

The pain in her chest flared, and the jagged edges of the hole he left in her bled again. A tear fell down her cheek. No, she didn't think she could handle that – to be in pain and never able to die. She let one more tear fall for the dream she had lost when he ripped it from her chest.

"No, thank you." She whispered.

Aro was disappointed…that was not the answer he had wanted.

"You do not wish to live?"

"No, I don't. I'm sorry. I have lived with a hole in me for almost a year now, the pain of losing the one thing I loved a constant burning wound. Now I live with the pain of disease as well. I know one will end if I accept your offer, but I don't want to live with the other for eternity."

"Ah, then you may accept our offer. Human memories are fragile, easily forgotten. Once you are immortal, they will fade with the change. All pain will mean nothing when you are a vampire. You will probably not even remember who he was."

Bella just shook her head, Aro sighed.

Well, he had tried to ask.

'_Change her anyway Aro_.'

'_I plan to brother. She is too great a value to waste in such a way. Besides, the fire will purge her memory, as it always has_.'


	6. Chapter 6

Okay guys here's 6 I really hope you enjoy, remember no matter what you will get the full story because I finished writing it a few weeks ago. I never post anything I haven't finished; the only hold up is the editing process. This story has become even more precious to me now because I just learned a very good friend of mine is dying of lung cancer. He never told us and until he was hospitalized this last time he hid it from us completely. So here is my dedication.

This is for Bones, who never knew his own child. You will always be one of the best fathers I have ever had.

Chapter 6 – The search begins

* * *

Edward, Carlisle and Alice arrived in Forks the next morning. Carlisle was the first to break the silence.

"Edward…maybe you should wait at the house while we speak to Charlie. No matter what has happened, he is likely to be angry with you for breaking his daughter's heart."

"Carlisle, I can't just sit and wait. You know that."

"I know this will not be easy for you, but I think we will get more out of Charlie if you're not around."

"Alice?" Edward asked.

She concentrated, and they both saw the vision of Charlie screaming at Edward - clear as day.

"Okay, fine. I'll get out here, and I'll run back and wait at the house." He wanted to know quickly weather Bella was safe or not, and if that meant keeping his distance for this part so be it.

Alice took the wheel for the rest of the drive.

When Alice and Carlisle reached Charlie's house, they could hear him inside -obviously getting ready for work, Bella's scent was weaker than they remembered, meaning that Bella hadn't been there recently. From what Alice could tell it had been at least a month.

They walked up the drive and Charlie opened the door before they made it to the steps. He looked shocked for a moment, then guarded.

"What are you guys doing here? I haven't seen you since you took that new job."

"We were driving through, and Alice wanted to stop by to say hello to Bella."

"I haven't seen her in awhile. I just really missed her." Alice chimed in with a smile.

Charlie, as always, fell for Alice's charms. He softened just a little.

"Belle's not here, she's in Europe." They heard the slight hitch in his voice and his heart rate increased. Charlie debated whether or not to tell them about her illness. He didn't see how it could hurt, and besides that Carlisle was a doctor.

"When will she be back?" Alice asked.

"Come on inside. I've got something to tell you."

Alice's face went blank. She saw, with what seemed like blinding clarity after all of the other visions of Bella. She knew exactly what he was about to say.

She wished in that moment that she could cry. There was never a way to protect her. Nothing they did could have prevented…

They sat on the couches in the living room, and Carlisle saw a painting over the fireplace.

"That's beautiful. Who painted it?"

"An artist Bella met in France. She did three of them." He glanced at the portrait of Bella, and both vampires saw his eyes go glassy before he swallowed hard.

"Bella got sick after you guys left. For months she couldn't stop coughing, and she was getting really bad headaches. We took her to the doctor and he didn't think much of it, but she just kept getting worse." He looked at Alice like he was talking in some kind of trance.

"What happened, Charlie?" Carlisle asked, though by the gravity in Charlie's voice he thought he already knew.

"She got really bad, and they did some X-Rays…she's dying. We had three different doctors look at it, and there's nothing they can do."

"I'm so sorry, Charlie." Carlisle couldn't think of how they would break this to Edward. Alice just hid her face in her hands.

"She told one of her friends she wanted to travel, so we let her. It was her last wish…the only one we could give her. We don't think she will make it back…she has so little time left."

"How much time does she have?" Carlisle asked, wondering how much time they had to find her and how hard it would be.

"They gave her about 6 months at the beginning of April."

"Is there any way we can contact her?" Alice spoke up.

"She has a cell phone so she can tell me where she is." Again Charlie's voice cracked. "But I promised her we would leave her alone. She needs this; she was real messed up for a long time. I want her last few months to be as peaceful as possible."

They both got the message - he didn't want her reminded of Edward.

"Here. I have something you guys can take; I think she would like you to have this, Alice."

He walked into the hallway and came back with another painting.

"You were a great friend to her last year after she got hurt. Not many friends would have done what you did." She looked at the painting and nearly sobbed; Bella was sitting in a park, staring into space and looking bittersweet.

"Thank you, Charlie." She said.

"I have to get to work." He said, with an obvious attempt to pull himself together.

"Thank you for talking to us, Charlie. Again I'm so very sorry."

They left the house and got back in the car.

"We are going to have to break in later and find out where she is. There has to be a clue in there somewhere," Carlisle said.

"We don't need to - he gave us a starting point," She said, pointing to the date and the signature on the painting.

"He said it was done in Paris, so she was there 10 days ago."

Carlisle drove back toward the house to pick up Edward.

"Alice, call Esme. Tell them to catch the next flight to Paris."

Edward was waiting for them at the end of the drive.

"Well? Where is she?"

Alice didn't waste time. She replayed the vision and the whole conversation for him to hear in her mind. He was silent for the rest of the drive to Seattle.

'_Bella's dying. She dying and I can't even save her…I may not even be in time to see her again, let alone help her._' He thought back to his confession to her on her birthday. '_Well I wasn't about to live without you_.' His words, spoken what felt like a life time ago, echoed in his mind.

She never would have had the healthy, normal life he had wished for her. Rosalie's antagonism didn't apply. She would be dead in such a short while. He closed his eyes and forced himself to remember the day he had broken her heart, and his own. He saw her face, lost and pained, and hated himself even more because she might never know the truth.

They were on the plane before any of them spoke to each other. Carlisle whispered so low, no one around them would hear.

'_Edward, I hope you understand. I'm going to give her the option to change when we find her_.' Even Carlisle wouldn't entertain thoughts like 'if' right now.

He thought about it, and while part of him raged at the idea, he nodded.

'_Yes, I figured you would. I'm selfish enough to hope she says yes_.'

'_This won't be about you. This will be her decision - I won't force it on her_.'

'_I understand.'_

'_Alice, have you been able to see anything new_?' Carlisle asked.

Up to this point Alice had looked to be asleep to most of the passengers.

'_No, something is still blocking me. I couldn't see anything, but…_' she broke off and sent a sympathetic look toward Edward. '_I felt she was in pain. I couldn't tell how much._'

'_How soon until we are all in Paris_?' Edward asked.

'_13 hours. The others should land about 2 hours earlier; it was smart of them to wait at the airport_.' Alice whispered back.

Edward felt useless. In his long existence he could never remember time being so warped. The flight seemed agonizingly slow, but he felt like time was moving too fast. Like he was racing someone, or something, and to lose meant more than just defeat.

* * *

Bella didn't know how long she had been burning.

She had no reference for night, or day. In some dim part of her mind, she knew what this fire meant. She remembered this kind of fire from when James had bit her.

The wound in her soul seemed just as raw as it always did. Why wasn't she forgetting anything? They said the change burned away your human memories, so why were they all still so clear in her mind?

She never once screamed. She knew pain by now, and knew that screaming often only made the pain worse. So she held it inside - the pain, and the anger with it.

She hadn't wanted this. She told them she didn't want to live an eternity in pain. At one point Bella thought of her parents…how long had she been out of contact, how worried were they? She felt her eyes tingle like she would cry, only to realize that there were no tears. She no longer could cry.

The fire became so central to her that she was almost unaware when it began to recede from her limbs. It crept in slowly, and she found she could move her fingers. They were still there, they just no longer burned.

The more the fire receded from her limbs, the greater it became in her heart. Soon she felt the whole of it concentrate there, as if she might suddenly burst into flames from the inside.

Her heart beat so fast and so hard now that she wondered why it didn't explode. Once again, she thought back to what waited for her if she survived this…a thousand lifetimes of pain and heartache. He had once told her that his kind never forgot anything. Well, she remembered him - and how much she still loved him. Now she too would never forget, and she would always regret.

She felt the jagged edges of the hole in her soul twist as she thought about the centuries ahead of her. They burned and flared in time with the fire still burning in her heart.

When she was sure she had burst into flames, the twin pains flared one more time so hard and so hot she had to clench her teeth to keep from screaming out.

Then the fire was gone.

The jagged ache that had been with her since September was still there – raw, open and bleeding - somehow even sharper, but all was silent. She didn't hear a thing, not her breath, not her heartbeat. Slowly she opened her eyes to find herself in a dark cell; the walls were stone, and the air was thick. She recognized the smell of mold and dank. Slowly she began picking out sounds in the walls.

She heard the scampering of tiny feet, and the slow yet steady pace of someone walking on the other side. A drip was coming from somewhere down the hall from her cell. She wanted to cry. She felt herself convulse with sobs, but there were no tears. The pain in her chest hadn't lessened like they said it would. In the absence of the fire, she felt the loss of Edward all the more keenly.

It was even worse now than it was before the change. Bella had been given some small reprieve when she was told her life would be over by her next birthday. She had the knowledge the pain would end soon. Now that she faced the prospect of centuries of pain without the ability to die, the edges of the wound tore even more.

What was it _he_ had said? '_Well, I'll remember_.' Her memory was now infallible; she would carry his memory and this pain forever. She remembered something else he once told her.

'_When you can live forever, what do you live for_?'

She would have to learn that one for herself. She thought of her future and felt something ignite inside her. Not the fire of the change - this was different.

She had no one. Not her parents, not her friends, not the Cullens. They had taken away her only salvation – death - and given her an eternity of loneliness. As the fire she felt grew, she finally realized what it was.

Bella was angry.

She guessed that it was about an hour she spent in there before someone came for her. She heard them coming, four by the sounds of the steps. Instincts she didn't know she had had her dropping into a crouch, ready to jump at the door as soon as it opened. She realized quickly that this was not wise; she did not know how to fight, and would most likely be easily restrained by whoever was on the other side of that door should she try to attack.

She straightened before the door opened, and another hooded figure stood there. She could see, though there was no light, that there were three others standing behind the first. One of the figures in the back spoke first.

"Good. The change is complete." She recognized the voice as the one who had first brought her here. She had a sudden violent urge to run forward and tear him apart. Again, she held herself in check. The figure in the front spoke next.

"Aro wants to see you."

She knew she had no choice. There were four vampires standing in front of her - she would never make it past one.

"Okay."

* * *

They led her to the end of the row of cells. Two walked in front of her, and two behind. They still carried no light, because there was no need for one. They passed through a door and turned left. About halfway down that corridor they turned again, and the leader unlocked a door and led her up a long spiral staircase. They must have been underground, because as they ascended the light got better.

She stopped paying attention to where they were going when she noticed she was thirsty.

There was a burning sensation in the back of her throat. So this is what Edward spoke of. She was finally beginning to understand - however right now she needed to concentrate, so she pushed the burning to the back of her mind. She would deal with that later.

Bella finally found herself back in the circular room where she had first met Aro and his brothers. She was too angry to be afraid now. Not that she felt she had to be afraid - if she angered them, they would just kill her. She held her head high as she approached the center of the room.

Aro was already standing, waiting, with Caius beside him. She noticed for the first time a small vampire standing very close to Aro right behind him; the vampire was barley touching him, but seemed to be almost hiding against his side. Again Marcus was sitting in his chair, looking bored.

"Ah, Bella dear," Aro began. "So good of you to join us. We have missed you these last days." She wanted to grind her teeth together. His disgustingly sweet demeanor was making her even angrier.

"An appreciated sentiment I assure you, however I seem to remember telling you I did not wish to _join_ you."

She saw Marcus lift his head back in the shadows. Aro's eyebrows raised and Caius' perpetual scowl only got worse.

Marcus let the surprise slide away. So, this one remembered her human life. He knew then that she would not stay with them.

"Oh dear, don't be cross. We couldn't let your emotions cloud such an important decision in your life. Come, you must be hungry. Demetri, bring something." The one who had brought her here bowed and quickly disappeared out the way they had come in.

"Please," Aro continued after. "I'm most curious if your mind is still blocked to me…may I?" Again, thinking of the other vampires around her, she saw the command for what it was.

"Very well." She held out her hand, and the little vampire at Aros' side whimpered.

"Ah, hush now my little one, all is well." He flowed forward and took Bella's hand in his. He seemed to concentrate for a moment, but this time she felt the tingling sensation in the back of her mind…and it was slightly unpleasant. Again when he opened his eyes, he seemed almost frustrated.

Out of the corner of one eye she saw Caius move to speak with another vampire, and whisper quickly. '_You know what to do_.' Bella didn't understand what he meant, but prepared herself for anything.

Just then a new smell came to her; it was the most amazing smell she had ever experienced. The burn in her throat increased exponentially. A bitter fluid pooled in her mouth, and for a moment all she could think of was sating the burn in her throat.

Less than a second later she realized the only thing that could smell that good had to be a human.

They had said they were bringing her something. She stopped breathing and held it, knowing she could stay like this for as long as necessary.

They brought in an old woman, maybe in her mid fifties. She looked so scared. Demetri dropped her on the floor. Bella felt shame come over her when she saw the fear in this woman's eyes as she stared up at nothing.

"Wh…where am I?" Bella realized with pity the woman was blind as well. She closed her eyes against the sight.


	7. Chapter 7

I'm trying to give you guys the chapters a good distance apart. I don't want to make you wait to long and have you lose interest but I like the edge of your seat feeling you get from cliffhangers (you may call me evil). Unfortunately my beta has a kid and is the live in nanny for two more, so she sometimes gets her hands full. Please excuse us if the updates take a little more time than normal. However know it will never take more than one week.

Chapter 7 – Alice's Frustration

* * *

"Wh…where am I?" Bella realized with pity the woman was blind as well. She closed her eyes against the sight.

Bella heard the whispers then, and recognized several voices.

'_Why hasn't she attacked yet?_' Caius.

'_How is she just standing there? As a newborn she should be wild right now_.' She didn't know that voice.

'_Why hasn't she fed?_' one of her guards.

'_Interesting_.' Aro.

There were others, but they all seemed the same - amazed by the fact that she wouldn't drink from the human in front of her.

"Why don't you drink? The thirst must be unbearable," Aro said

"I won't do it." Bella said between clenched teeth. "I will not touch her."

Bella began to feel another tingling in her mind now near the front, but she couldn't figure out what it was. It was different than Aro trying to read her mind, but it was similar.

"You will have to drink eventually - the thirst cannot be denied forever." Caius sneered.

"I will not take her life!" Bella yelled. She felt something inside of her, like a bubble that seemed to form in her anger. She ignored it.

She heard the vampire Caius had spoken to whisper. '_I can't feel anything, it's like she doesn't exist. No emotions at all_.'

'_Keep trying_.' Caius whispered back. It clicked then, the pressure Bella felt in her mind. This other vampire had another power and was trying to do something to her.

Aro ordered the woman taken away. Marcus was watching very closely now - this girl was even stronger than he had thought. This made her a danger and an asset. He still felt the bond between her and the unknown man she loved. He knew Chelsea's power worked on bonds of friendship and affection, but deeper bonds couldn't be touched by her gift.

But that she couldn't even see it made him wonder how her shield worked. He watched Bella start to breathe again after the woman was carried out. She looked calm enough, but he was beginning to suspect that was another shield.

For the first time in near 1000 years he felt a small tremor of excitement. His brothers hadn't lost a potential acquisition since they got the twins and Chelsea. They always managed to 'convince' anyone to join.

This would be interesting.

"I would like to leave." Bella said. "I don't want to live the way you do and I have no interest in joining your little army here."

"Where will you go?" Caius said, trying to cause her pain. "You said you were dying, you can't expect them to-"

"Anywhere but here!" She yelled, losing her temper again. She suddenly turned to the vampire whom Caius had spoken with. "Would you please stop trying to mess with my head?" She asked, causing the vampire in question to stare back at her with wide eyes. However, the intrusions stopped.

"I'm afraid we can't just let you leave my dear. As a newborn you cannot be left alone." Aro said

"She has just displayed exceptional control for any vampire, surly even you understand she is not a liability." Marcus spoke up for the first time. "It is not our way to hold anyone who does not _wish to stay_." Bella saw him grin at the one who had been trying to see her emotions.

'_So that's what she does_,' Bella thought. '_She makes you want to stay_.'

"We cannot tell how her control will last after only a few hours. I'm sure you understand, Marcus. We must be sure."

'_Be quiet Marcus_.' Caius hissed.

"I can hear all of you now." Bella said looking directly at Caius.

Bella felt her temper getting the better of her again, and consciously forced it down.

"Exactly how long will I be forced to stay here, then?"

"Ah, my dear Bella. Do not look at this as a prison. I'm hoping in time you will find home here."

"Well then, will I be able to hunt animals in the forests nearby?"

"If that is how you wish to live." Aro said.

* * *

The Cullens had been in Paris for four days.

It was raining when they arrived, so they had no hope of locating her scent outdoors. Edward was getting worried - the last 3 visions Alice had of Bella, if you could call them that, had been unhelpful. They gave only the impression that Bella was alone and in pain.

Edward felt like he was losing his mind. They hadn't had any luck locating the artist who had painted Bella while she had been here. Carlisle and Esme were checking every art house and gallery in the city, looking for more of her work.

Jasper and Emmett were checking local hospitals and police stations. Edward didn't like to think about what they were looking for. Rosalie, Edward and Alice were trying, as a last resort, to find the park in the painting of Bella that Charlie had given them.

Alice was starting to show the most frustration - mostly at herself. Jasper had to endure the brunt of her pain when she finally blew up.

"Why cant I SEE?" She screamed one evening.

"Alice, you shouldn't beat yourself up over this. We have never fully understood your visions." Esme tried to reassure her.

"I just don't get it. I can see perfectly clear that Edward is going to go hunting in 47 minutes, but I can't see her. Why can't I see her?" Alice collapsed to the floor of their suite, and Jasper walked over and put his arms around his wife. Everyone in the room felt the wave of calm.

Rosalie had been sitting at the computer, trying to locate more art galleries. She scanned each website for styles similar to the one they had found. She ended up on the page for an art school. The homepage displayed many different types and examples; she scrolled down and found their first break.

"She's a student!" Rosalie said. "I found the painter."

Edward was by her side before she could continue. Alice and everyone else followed moments later.

There on the screen was a charcoal sketch of Bella. Her hair was styled and curled, her face angelic and sad. Her eyes had always shown her feeling, and the artist had captured even that. Edward felt his heart tear just a little more. She looked so lost.

"We can go to the school tomorrow," Esme said. "It looks like there is some kind of student show going on. The artist should be there. Though only a few of us should go - we don't want to scare the girl."

"I agree," Carlisle said. "Esme, Edward and Alice will go tomorrow."

Alice closed her eyes and concentrated; to her great happiness, the vision was clear.

They found several pieces by the artist, sketches and paintings. Only a few were of Bella. Esme is the first to find the artist, but they finally do.

"Thank you Alice." Edward said. The rest of the family glanced at her.

"She'll be there. I can see that much now."

* * *

The next morning the sky was an unrelieved blue. Edward tried to see this as a good sign, though it meant it would be harder for them to get there.

They arrived at the show early; it started at 9 and lasted all day. Alice walked in like she knew exactly where she was going. Which, in this case, she probably did. They found the sketch from the web site first.

The next piece they found was another sketch, this one a stream somewhere in the mountains. The next piece he found hit him like a punch to the stomach - it was Bella again. She was wearing a royal blue dress slit high on one side, the top draped across her body from her right shoulder to under her left arm, leaving one shoulder totally bare. Her hair was curled on top of her head and she was holding her shoes in one hand. She seemed to be grinning at something someone had said.

He couldn't breathe…she looked so beautiful. Alice came up behind him and put an arm around his shoulder.

'_I'm sorry, Edward_.' She thought, knowing he could hear her.

"So am I." He said. "What have I done, Alice? Can I fix this?"

'_I don't know. I wish I could give you that answer. I hope so, for all our sake. Mostly for hers though_.' Her eyes went glassy a moment.

"Come on, Esme found the artist." Alice said

They walked together to the next floor and found Esme talking with a young woman, probably in her mid twenties.

"Ah, these are two of my children - Edward and Alice. Kids, this is Magalie."

"Hello, how did you guys hear about me?"

"A friend of mine was traveling through here almost 3 weeks ago now, and you did a painting of her." Alice asked

"Oh! You're some of Bella's friends. She didn't tell me she had friends coming to Paris so soon."

"She doesn't know, we're actually looking for her. Do you know where she is?"

"She said she was going to Italy. I haven't heard from her again. She stayed with me a week, I used her as the model for 3 of my final pieces. I gave her some practice pieces to send home. Do you guys know she's…?"

"Sick, yes we do. We didn't know until recently and we haven't seen her in some time." Esme explained.

"So you don't know where she is now?" Alice asked

"No, I don't. I know there were several places she was going to see, I can give you a list but it's unlikely you will find her. Have you tried asking her parents where she might be? She calls them almost every other day to tell them where she is."

Edward spoke. "Her father doesn't like me much right now."

"So you are the Edward. I thought you might be. Tell me…if you didn't love her, why are you here? Why are you searching for her now?"

"Because I do love her. Love makes us do many stupid things, and mine was leaving."

"I believe you. I'm sorry you realized it so late, and I wish I could help you."

"The painting on the lower floor, is it for sale?" Edward asked suddenly, as he hadn't been able to get the sight of it out of his head.

"It isn't listed as being for sale, but anyone can make an offer."

"5,000." (about 1,000 USD)

Magalie nearly choked. Alice grinned, seeing the decision form in the girls mind. Esme merely smiled. She was curious about the painting now.

"I have never sold a painting, and you think I'll say no to that kind of offer. I'll tell the gallery manager to mark it as sold. You can pay him and arrange for shipping."

"I'll take care of it." Esme said, walking away.

"Thank you for all your help. Can you give us a starting point in Italy? The city she went to when she left here?" Edward asked.

"That I can do."

When they got back to their hotel, the others were waiting.

"According to Magalie she calls her father every other day. So I think someone needs to return to Forks. Hopefully we will get lucky and hear him say where she is."

"I'll go back." Carlisle said.

"Okay. The rest of us are going to Rome, that's where she was headed from here. Call us as soon as you hear something."


	8. Chapter 8

Okay now to answer some of your questions from the reviews. I will not answer all because some would ruin the surprise. No Aro doesn't get curious about Bella's diet because she never calls it 'vegetarian'. In movies such as 'Interview With The Vampire' vampires have been able to eat rats, dogs and other animals. She could have gotten the idea somewhere else. Next question with Jacob be back in this story? If you notice Jacob never was in this story he was mentioned but never actually there. No he will not be back but he will be mentioned one more time. Many of you have asked other questions that will be revealed soon so I will leave those for now. As always you guys have been wonderful. Here is the next chapter.

Chapter 8 – The grief of her fathers

* * *

The night that Bella was informed she couldn't leave, she made them take her to the forest so she could hunt.

She floundered for about an hour before she managed to stop trying to fight her instincts, and soon managed to catch a deer. She drank two before she felt the burn in her throat recede to bearable. Her guards stood several yards away and seemed slightly disgusted by her choice of diet. She ignored them, and while she was burning the bodies she had an idea.

She turned to her guards.

"Do either of you have a bag?"

"What?"

"Some kind of plastic bag. Something I could put the ashes in."

With a great deal of confusion, they handed her one of the small bags they carried with them to hold anything that doesn't burn or melt when they burn their victims.

After the fire had reduced to ash, she swept enough into the bag to fill a large shoebox. She tied the bag carefully so it wouldn't spill on their run back to Volterra.

"What are you doing?" They asked.

"None of your business. Now take me back, I have to talk to Gianna."

"Very well."

* * *

It was near dawn when they returned to Volterra. Bella headed straight to Gianna's office, just as she was arriving.

"Bella! What can I do for you? I have been told to help you with anything you need."

"Thank you. I need a polished wood box with a locking lid. I also need paper to write some letters, and I'll need the box shipped after I see it."

"I'll have several boxes here for you to look at in the next hour." Gianna said as she walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a delivery schedule. "It looks like we have a pick up at 11am today. They can take the box then, and whatever letters you write. Where is the box going?"

"Washington State." Bella said.

"It should get there by tomorrow night, or the next morning with express shipping. There is stationary and some pens in your room you may use for your letters. I'll show you the way."

Bella followed her in silence. She almost expected to be led back to the cell she had found herself in at the completion of her change. Instead, they went to one of the towers - and Gianna handed her a key.

"All of your things from your room at the inn have been brought here for you. You will find your clothes in the dresser, and any personal items in the drawers by the couch. The desk is stocked, and you should find anything you need there. If you require anything else just let me know. This one's yours."

"Thank you, Gianna. I will be back in an hour to look at the boxes."

The guards had left her alone when they returned. She entered her room and set down the bag of deer ashes. When she finally looked down at herself, she realized she hadn't had a shower in four days. She was covered in dirt and mud, and there was some blood from her hunt.

Disgusted with her state, she decided to clean up before she set down to write the letters. She found a bathroom complete with a shower and stripped out of her soiled clothes, and the jacket she wore now out of habit instead of necessity. She let herself think about what she would write while the water washed the grime away.

Bella felt the hole in her chest convulse again as she thought of what she was about to do. She would have to try to disguise her handwriting, and this had to be done soon - before her parents thought to start looking for her.

She stepped out of the shower and got dressed in clean clothes. She brushed her hair, took the charm Billy had given her out of the blood-stained jacket, and placed it in her sweater pocket.

She sat at the desk and started with the letter to her father that would go with the box to Washington. Next, she wrote to her mother. With both letters she kept her hand writing overly loopy and feminine. Unlike her usual scratchy writing, she hoped this would be different enough that they would believe someone else had written them. However, they had no reason to suspect otherwise.

She finished quickly, grabbed the bag of ashes and headed back to Gianna. True to her word, which Bella guessed she had to be around here, she had three boxes ready.

The first was simple, with square edges, and it had an old-fashioned lock on it with a skeleton key. It was stained a light gold, and looked very old.

The second was newer, and had an arched lid that made it look like a treasure chest. It had two faux leather belts that locked the lid down. This one was stained dark, almost black.

The third was again square-cornered, but slightly bigger than the first. This one had a newer lock, set with a small modern key. It was dark brown - almost the color Bella's eyes were before. She decided to use it for that reason…she hated her eyes now. They reminded her of James and Laurent.

"This one will work." She took the key from beside it and opened the box. Bella very carefully opened the bag and poured the ashes inside.

"May I ask what this is about?" Gianna asked carefully.

"I'm giving my parents closure. Since they won't be able to bury my body, I'm sending them my ashes. The letters explain I died in a small clinic, and asked the nurse to contact my parents before slipping into a coma and dying three days ago. One is for my mother, and the other will be sent with this to my father."

Bella managed to finish, close and lock the box without getting dust everywhere. She threw the bag in the nearest trash bin, and put the key in the letter for her father before she sealed the envelope and handed both letters, and the box, to Gianna.

"Thank you for your help."

Not knowing what to say, Gianna simply smiled and began loading _Bella's Remains_ into a shipping box.

* * *

The Cullens hit some luck in Rome, finding the hotel she had stayed in at the time. Edward cringed at the thought of her staying in that place. The thoughts he heard from the owner when he remembered Bella were such that Edward had to have Jasper calm him down.

In one of the coffee shops nearby, they found a woman who had talked to Bella the day she left - and they had her next location. Carlisle's flight had been canceled in New York, so he wouldn't be getting back to Forks until the next day.

They were all separated, searching Florence for wherever she might have stayed. When Alice had her next vision, this time Bella was crystal clear - but everything else was dark and smoky. She saw Bella alone, and hiding. She looked like she hadn't slept in days…but Alice knew with certainty it wasn't sleepless nights that gave her those bruises under her red eyes.

Bella was a vampire.

She called Edward immediately, and he answered on the first ring.

"Have you found anything?" he asked.

"No, Edward…I haven't found anything. I had a vision, but you're not going to like it."

"What happened, Alice?"

"I saw Bella clear for the first time in weeks. I still couldn't tell where she was, but Edward…Bella was a vampire."

"Alice, we know that's a possibility. Carlisle said he would offer to turn her." Though it hurt him to think of her losing her soul…

"That isn't what you're not going to like Edward. She was alone."

"That doesn't make sense, Alice. We would never leave a newborn alo-" he trailed off, thinking of the only other explanation.

They weren't the ones who turned her.

"Edward, we don't know if she's really changed, or if it will even happen."

"It doesn't matter. Your seeing it means there is a possibility someone else is going to turn her, then leave her alone. We have to find her now."

* * *

Rosalie managed to track her to the coast, where she spent a day. But they still didn't know where she had gone from there. No one they talked to knew where her next destination was.

They found her next inn late that night. Jasper and Emmett walked in and asked the owner if she had ever seen Bella, and showed her a picture.

"No, I don't think so." Jasper caught the subtle signs of the lie, so he knew they had the right place. They left the photo of Bella on the counter while they called Edward, so he could come read her mind. While they were whispering to each other, the owner's daughter came out of the kitchen. She looked about 13.

"_Are they looking for Bella_?" She asked in Italian. Jasper, seeing this as his chance, spoke back - as his Italian was better than Emmett's.

"_Do you remember Bella?"_ he asked, and watched the old woman scowl at her daughter. The girl didn't notice.

"_Of course, she stayed here several days. She was very nice, though I couldn't speak with her very much because my English is very poor_."

"_Did she ever tell you where she was going when she left here_?"

"_No, she didn't say. Why are you looking for her_?"

"_Bella is very sick, and were trying to find her - to help her_."

"_What do you mean sick_?" The woman asked sharply.

"_Nothing contagious, she has cancer_." He turned his attention back to the young girl. "_So you don't have any idea where she went_?"

"_When I cleaned her room the day after she left I found information about Greece. There was a map, and Athens was circled_."

"_Thank you, that helps a lot_."

They left quickly, calling Edward again as they walked out.

"Don't worry about coming here, she's in Greece." Jasper said as they started the car.

* * *

Carlisle spoke with Edward as soon as he got off the plane, Edward told him about the vision Alice had of Bella being changed and left alone. He found this even more distressing then Edward thinking about Bella in Italy. So close to the Volturi, and a newborn.

When Carlisle finally arrived in Forks it was the middle of the day, so he knew Charlie would be at work. Weighing his morals against Bella's safety, Carlisle snuck into Charlie's house and searched for any clues that would tell him where she was. He found her medical records and scanned them quickly.

When he saw the records from the first doctor she saw and realized he just threw medicine at her without ever examining her, he felt ashamed of his former colleague. Unfortunately, he knew it was something that happened more frequently than most doctors would admit.

He hid in the woods near the house after he was done. It wasn't long before he smelled the werewolves coming to investigate.

A huge black wolf stalked over to ten feet away from Carlisle, but stopped when he saw the eyes. He turned and moved back into the trees, returning moments later as a man wearing nothing but black jeans.

"Your one of the Cullens?" He asked. "We are told to recognize your clan by the eyes."

"Yes. I am Carlisle Cullen."

"I'm Sam Uley. I'm sorry for the breach in treaty. We did not know you had returned, and we have been hunting one of your kind in this area for several months."

"Really? And they haven't left the area?"

"No. She seems to be after something here; she sneaks along our patrol lines and has, on occasion, gotten through. We have tracked her to several places in the city."

"Like where?" Carlisle was very disturbed by the knowledge that there was a vampire searching for something in Forks.

"She has gone to the school several times - as well as the hospital, one of the local stores, and several houses. But she has never entered any of them - except the school."

"Have any of your pack seen her?"

"Yes. Unfortunately she ran and managed to reach the ocean, where she got away from us." He said this with a snarl. "She had bright red hair and…" he saw the recognition in Carlisle's eyes. "You know this vampire?"

"No. However I have seen her. You said she had come near several houses? Did she ever approach that one?" He said pointing at Charlie's house.

"Yes she did, a few weeks ago. That is why we patrol here now. The sheriff is a good friend of the father of one of my pack." Carlisle put the pieces together quickly.

"She must have been after Bella."

"Why would she be after her?"

"We killed one of her clan last year, because he went after Bella. She would see it as revenge - to kill the weakest of our clan."

Sam thought back to the day they found Bella by the Cullen's home.

"There was another attack," he said. "Bella was in the clearing by your home, and there was a vampire with olive-toned skin and black hair. We arrived as he was preparing to attack, and we killed him that day."

"Laurent. He was the last member of that clan…when was the last time you saw Victoria?"

"I'm assuming that is the female. We have not seen her since she was at Charlie's house."

"I must thank you for saving Bella's life. My family is in your debt."

"Bella has been gone for over a month, what are you doing here now?"

"We are trying to find her. My family is searching Europe right now, and so I returned to see if I could find anything here that might help them find her sooner. She is still in danger." He thought about the vision of Bella as a vampire…could it have been Victoria?

"What do you mean?"

"One of my family has visions of the future, however they are not infallible. We have good reason to believe that Bella is in trouble."

There conversation was interrupted when a delivery trunk pulled up in front of Charlie's house. The man climbed out with a large box and, double-checking the address, left it on the porch.

"Bella's sick. Are you sure that's not what your vampire is seeing?"

"It is one of the possibilities she has seen."

"You're worried about the redhead?"

"Yes…that is another possibility."

"I can't tell you if I wish you luck or hell in your search. We all saw what your leaving did to her - she doesn't need that kind of pain right now. On the other hand, I hope you find her before that other bloodsucker does."

"Thank you. It was nice to finally meet you."

Sam slipped back into the trees and was gone.

Carlisle would have gone to investigate the package in case it was another gift from Bella, like the painting. However, he heard Charlie's cruiser coming down the street.

Charlie parked and got out of his cruiser. He looked to Carlisle as though he hadn't slept in days. The lines between his brow was a sure sign of worry. When he reached the door and found the package, the lines faded in surprise. He picked up the box and took it inside. Carlisle moved close enough to be able to see in through the kitchen window.

Charlie took the box into the kitchen and placed it on the table. There was no return address, though he could tell by the shipping stamp it came from Italy.

He searched through three drawers before he found a box cutter. He lifted out a dark brown box and he felt his heart fall. He hadn't heard from his daughter in days, and now this. He had his suspicions about what the letter would say.

He opened the letter and a shiny silver key fell out. He set that aside and pulled out the letter. He didn't recognize the handwriting.

Dear Mr. Swan,

I'm sorry to have to inform you in this way of you daughter's death. She was brought into our clinic on July 7th after suffering a massive seizure; I was the nurse who was on duty at the time. She was conscious for several hours, though she could not speak. She wrote a request, that I arrange for her remains to be sent back to you should she die. She gave me your address, and her mother's so that I could contact her as well. She slipped into a coma and did not wake from it before her body finally gave out. I hope it gives you some peace to know your daughter's final day was peaceful and pain free. My prayers are with you in this time of grief.

The nurse.

Carlisle saw through the window, and knew what the letter read.

He had given many families that news over the years and saw the heartbreak for what it was. Only this time, the heartbreak was his as well…because he had begun to see Bella as one of his own children a long time ago.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello guys here's the next chapter, this will answer a few of the questions I have been getting in my reviews. However it will leave more open, the question of 'will they reach her in time?' will take on a whole new meaning from here on out. Enjoy, I enjoyed writing it.

Chapter 9 – Family

* * *

Carlisle decided to wait to call Edward until he could see the letter himself. Edward would want to know everything. He thought of what this would do to his first child…he knew Edward never wanted to outlive Bella by long. He hoped that Edward wouldn't do something quite so drastic; however he thought of losing Esme, and knew what his son would do.

He watched as Charlie stood and moved to the phone. He slid bonelessly into a chair after he finished dialing.

"Hey Renee…yeah I just got the - box…" his voice broke. "Yeah, it says here July 7th. That's the last day she called…we'll need to set a date for the funeral…I agree, up here is best…I'll tell her friends."

Carlisle moved away from the house, feeling confused. He needed to call Alice now.

He pulled his cell from his pocket and almost smiled when it rang before he could dial.

"You were going to call me?"

"Yeah Alice, I have a question. What day did you have that vision of Bella as a vampire on?"

"July 8th, why?"

"Something isn't right. Don't tell Edward we have spoken until I contact you again. Do not let him know anything, no matter what you see."

"Okay Carlisle."

Later, when Charlie went out to tell her friends, Carlisle broke in again and went immediately to the box. He could smell a vampire had touched the box, and the letter. He read the letter and saw that Bella was in a coma on the day Alice had her vision.

However, Alice only saw possibilities, Bella being a vampire wouldn't have been a possibility if she was dying in a hospital.

Carlisle began putting the pieces together. The letter did not give a name, it was written by a vampire, there was no death certificate, and Alice's vision…

It didn't make sense - unless Bella wasn't in a coma or dead, why send a fake if the real body was available. What didn't make sense was why.

He looked at the box and saw there was no return address - just the stamps from Italy. He took the key Charlie had left on the table and opened the box.

Even thru the smell of the ashes he could tell this wasn't human. That meant Bella was probably not dead. He tore a small piece of the envelope off, took a bag out of a drawer, and placed it inside. He headed back to his car knowing he would find nothing more here. He called Alice back as soon as he got onto the highway.

"Carlisle! Thank god, I just had another vision. It was blurry again, but this time I think I could tell Bella was hunting. What should I tell Edward?"

"Right now nothing, but we need to get back to Italy. She never left there."

"How do you know?"

"It's a long story. How soon will I be in Italy?"

There was a pause.

"You will just make the next flight if you don't check anything, and you will be in Rome international by noon tomorrow."

"Good. Have everyone meet in Rome…things may be worse than we thought."

* * *

Bella was just returning from hunting in the early morning, dripping wet from the storm that was supposed to continue until tomorrow. She overheard Demitri and another vampire, whom she had learned was named Felix, speaking.

"Are you sure it's the Cullens?" Demetri asked.

"Yes, and Carlisle arrives by plane in Rome today at noon. They are waiting for him." Felix.

She felt her chest sear again, the edges of the hole flaring painfully at the name. What if they came here, what if she was forced to see Edward again? She didn't think she could handle that; it was bad enough just seeing or hearing anything that reminded her of him.

She let herself think about Carlisle, and Alice and how much she missed them too. She wanted to let them know what had happened to her, in a selfish way she needed someone she knew to know the truth. She went back up to her room and sat down to write another letter - this one to Carlisle.

She didn't know how she would get it to him, but she had to try. She had just less than five hours to figure out how.

She had just finished and was heading down to see Gianna when she saw Marcus. She had not seen any of the three elders since they turned her.

"Marcus." She acknowledged with a nod.

"Bella, do you have a moment?"

Curious, she followed him into a large library.

"You have never spoken to me before. What do you want?" she asked.

"You are continually surprising me, and this has caused me to take great interest in you."

"I'm flattered." She said with no small amount of sarcasm.

"You display remarkable restraint for a newborn. I have not seen anything like it in several hundred years. Then you not only remember your family after the change, another rarity, but you set out to make the grief easier for them."

If she could still blush, she felt she would be.

"But most impressive, you do not show us any fear. You showed unparalleled courage while still human, and now you openly show your hostility. No one has dared to speak to us in such a manner in well over a thousand years."

"Is that all you wanted to tell me? You're fascinated?"

"There you go again, always so rude."

"I wouldn't be so rude if you weren't keeping me here against my will. If I could leave, and be alone."

"You know," Marcus said, changing the subject. "This castle is filled with secret passages left over from thousands of years ago. From the council chamber there is a stone doorway that leads to nowhere, a hallway that just ends. From Gianna's office also, you can go to three different places. Why, just behind that book shelf is a passage that leads out to the forest north of here."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Something else I found fascinating once. Ah well, I have most likely kept you from some pressing errand. Good luck to you." That said, he glided from the room and closed the door behind him.

It only took her a moment to understand, but she didn't trust his words. What was he doing? Was he helping her for some unknown reason, or was he waiting to see how long it would be before she was tracked down and killed?

Bella thought about the letter she held, and realized it didn't matter if they caught her and killed her. She didn't see a downside - either way, she wouldn't be here.

She returned to her room and put two outfits in her old school backpack. Then she threw in her brush, the letter, and what was left of her money. The rest she threw into her fire place and started it. Hopefully they would slow them down as fewer trackers would have her scent.

She was back in the library in record time, and went to the panel he pointed to. She tried just pulling on it gently, tried shifting books - and then she saw the light scuff mark in the paint by the wall-mounted lamp. She turned it slightly and heard the faint click.

Closing the door behind her she ran down the passage as fast as she could. Once she reached the bottom, she cracked the door open and was in an underground dirt tunnel. She continued at the same speed, and a minute later was pushing open some kind of grate at the edge of the forest. It was still raining miserably, so she climbed out without fear of the suns prismatic effect.

She saw Volterra's turrets rising in the distance. She new the rain would help her - it would make her harder to track. She knew what general direction Rome was from her drive here and headed that way at a full run.

Bella just hoped she made it there in time to leave the letter for Carlisle, and continue on. She had some stops to make on the way, as plans formed in her mind.

* * *

Carlisle was still thinking about the possibilities, and how he would explain this to Edward when his plane landed. Before he could exit the plane, a flight attendant's voice came over the speaker.

"Mr. Cullen, you have a message waiting at the gate desk, Mr. Carlisle Cullen, you have a message waiting at the gate desk."

He figured it was from Esme, or Edward telling him where they were waiting. He was surprised when he was handed a letter that smelled of a strange vampire. The same one as the letter Charlie had received.

He opened the letter and stopped walking.

Carlisle,

I understand you may be confused, as you have already smelled this letter was written by a vampire. First I must tell you…I was very sick after you and your family left. My doctor gave me only a few months to live. My family and friends arranged for me to spend some time touring Europe, before I died. I saw so many things, but I didn't know there were vampires following me. I'm sorry if you and your family never wanted to hear from me again, but I wanted you to know I am choosing to live like one of you. I have been a vampire for only a week, but I have yet to kill a human. I'm doing very well on a 'vegetarian' diet. I hope you can be proud of me even if we never see each other again. Please don't tell Edward that I wrote to you, I'm sure he would not appreciate the knowledge. However if you could tell Alice I miss her, I would appreciate that. If you would like to stay in contact you can leave me a message in the following P.O. Box listed in the envelope. Please don't come in person, or send someone else. I'm being hunted and as I don't know your scent from those who hunt me, I wouldn't be able to pick up the letter. I'm sorry if Edward finds out. I know he thinks I don't belong in your world. If it helps…it wasn't my choice.

Bella

He read the letter twice. It was Bella who had sent the ashes back to her family; to give them closure, as there would never be a body to bury. It made sense. She sounded so calm for a newborn, only one week.

He ran as fast as he could out of the air port without attracting attention. He found Alice waiting at the curb in a rented Mercedes.

"Why are we going to a post office?" she asked as soon as he got in.

"You were right. Bella _is_ a vampire and she _is_ alone. I need to send a letter to her."

"Why can't we just go get her?" Alice asked quickly.

"It's not that simple. She's being hunted. By who I don't know, I'll let you read the letter once we get there."

* * *

Minutes later, Carlisle was inside the post office writing the letter to Bella. Alice read the letter in the car and smiled at the fact that Bella wanted her to know. When she reached the end, she was scowling. She never knew what Edward had said to Bella the day they all left. Now she was ready to beat it out of him.

Carlisle was back moments later, and they headed to the hotel to meet everyone else. They said nothing on the way, both wondering how they were going to get to Bella in time.

When they arrived at the hotel, everyone was waiting still as statues. The only one who moved when they came through the door was Jasper, who could feel his wife's anger as she walked down the hall.

Alice walked straight to Edward, and without warning she slapped him so hard it sounded like a gunshot.

"You bastard! What did you say to her? What could yo-"

"Alice, that's enough. We don't have time for that," Carlisle said calmly

Edward looked slightly shocked by Alice's behavior - her thoughts were only of smacking him again. Carlisle very carefully kept his mind blank.

Jasper calmed his wife and wrapped his arms around her from behind, knowing she was still very angry.

"What happened, Carlisle?" Esme asked

"First I need everyone to understand that no one leaves until everything is explained. Edward…you're not going to like this."

He sat down in one of the large armchairs.

"This is going to take a long time to explain, and we don't have much time. Although there is nothing we can do until tomorrow. When I was waiting around Charlie's house, I was approached by the werewolves. The whole of the conversation is not important. What is important is that Bella was put in danger when we left, **because** we left."

"What do you mean?" Esme asked, her voice filling with shock and fear.

"Laurent and Victoria went after her for revenge, and she was left unprotected." He lifted a hand to stay Edwards's exclamation. "Victoria never got past the wolves. Laurent got Bella alone."

Edward growled low as did Emmett.

"We owe the wolves a great debt that they reached her in time. They killed Laurent, but have not been able to catch Victoria."

"Why did you tell us to return here?" Rosalie asked

"I'm getting there. Charlie got a package from Italy while I was there. It was a box of ashes and a letter informing him that his daughter slipped into a coma on July 7th." Edward and Alice looked at each other.

"But Alice's vision was on the 8th." Edward broke in confused.

"Which was why I took a closer look after Charlie left. The box, and the letter, smelled of vampires." He pulled out the piece of the envelope he took. "Nothing made sense - except that Bella had never made it to Greece. So I told you to come back to continue the search here. The ashes in that box weren't human. Why send a fake if Bella was really dead?"

"When I got off the plane there was a message waiting from the same vampire who sent the letter to Charlie. The scent was the same." He pulled out the letter from Bella and read it out loud.

When he finished, everyone was silent…for a few moments.

"She said she's being hunted, why would she be hunted?" Rosalie asked.

"She's a newborn," Jasper said.

"But she hasn't killed. Only the ones who created her would know her age, why would they hunt her if they turned her?" Esme wondered.

"Maybe they never intended to. Perhaps they didn't like her leaving, or maybe they don't know for sure that she will stay away from humans." Jasper continued.

"We won't have any way of knowing unless we can find her. I already wrote her, she should get the message tomorrow. I told her to meet me somewhere."

Edward looked up quickly.

"No, Edward. I'm going alone. Whatever you told her she believes completely. If she sees you, she may run…and as a newborn, she's still going to be faster than you."


	10. Chapter 10

Okay once again I love you guys I got 24 reviews from the last chapter alone, this has made me very giddy. I probably drove my family bonkers, but I'm a review whore. Okay for the people who cried in earlier chapters her is a warning, WARNING: TEARS AHEAD. Clear enough? This one I cried the whole time I was writing it, and I cried again when I reread it after my beta was done with it. This is where things get sad but remember IT HAS A HAPPY ENDING. It's always darkest before the dawn. I hope you enjoy this as much as I have. Here's chapter 10.

* * *

Chapter 10 – Guilt and Relief

Edward stood silently, staring out the window that night and thinking about Bella; alone, lost, hunted and hurting beyond measure because of what he had done. In all his years, he never hated himself as he did then.

'_She wouldn't be like this if I had never left. She had to learn she was dying without anyone to help her. Who had held her when she cried? She would have had to be strong for her family. I left her unprotected, maybe I couldn't protect her from the illness, but Laurent never would have come near her if we had been there_.' Edward continued to berate himself mentally.

He heard Jasper's thoughts before he saw him come to stand next to him.

"It's not your fault, you know. You couldn't have known she was sick."

"We'll never know. This would have never happened, though. She wouldn't be alone and scared if we hadn't left."

'_It's more my fault than yours_.' Jasper thought.

"Don't even think that, Jasper. No one blames you for what happened that day. I shouldn't have taken such drastic action. What you did was an accident. What I did wasn't, pulling the whole family from where we were so happy. Leaving her unprotected, alone to deal with what was to come…"

"You may not blame me, Alice may not blame me, and Bella may not blame me. But I blame myself. Alice believes she's part to blame as well. I feel her grief and self- loathing sometimes. She hates that she listened to you and never checked up on her."

"I realize now I was thinking out of fear. Fear that she would die and that I would never hear her voice again, and fear I would never feel her warm skin under my fingers. I never wanted to lose those things, and I thought as long as I knew she was alive and well _somewhere_ I could live with that. I have never been more wrong about anything."

"You try to take all the blame and guilt; you don't really understand, there isn't a person in this family that doesn't care about Bella. She's already a part of all of us, more so than even we realized when we agreed to leave Forks. You know that even Rosalie believes she holds some blame, because she was so cruel in the beginning. Losing Bella tore at us all - she was something we needed. Something we still need, and we won't be complete until she's where she belongs."

Edward stared at his brother for a moment; he thought back to Rosalie's words after Alice told him about her first vision.

'_Bring her back, Edward. She means a lot to this family_.'

"I'm sorry I never thought of how this would affect all of you." Edward whispered. Emmett spoke up from a behind them.

"None of us thought about that, none of us knew. I really liked her. I never had a little sister. Even in this family I never saw Alice as younger, and she's scary sometimes."

Jasper elbowed him hard, and they all laughed a little. Then Edward got serious again.

"I don't know how to fix this. I can't even go near her, how do I repair the damage I have caused? I don't know if she will ever forgive me, I don't know if she should. I know I'll never forgive _**myself**_ for what has happened. I can't help but wish I had been there when she was told she was sick…I could have at least comforted her."

Alice, Rosalie and Esme joined them at the window. Esme put her hand on Edwards's shoulder. He took it and held before he continued.

"I can't help but wonder who turned her. Was it Victoria who finally caught up with her, or was it someone else? Why is she being hunted, why didn't she wait to speak with Carlisle in person? How could I have been so very wrong, how could I have messed this up so much?" He turned to Alice. "Is there any hope? Will I ever get the chance to tell her how wrong I was, how much I really do love her?"

"I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you get that chance." Carlisle stood now on Jasper's left. Edward listened to the thoughts of his family.

Emmett wanted to fight; his thoughts were of finding who was hunting her. He wanted to protect her

Jasper was thinking of how they could smuggle her onto another continent, somewhere secure so they could deal with who pursued her.

Alice was still trying to see if Bella would meet Carlisle, or if something was going to happen before.

Esme was trying not to think about the possibility of losing two of her children, because Bella was already hers in her mind. And she knew Edward would be lost if Bella was.

Carlisle was planning on how he was going to convince her to stay with them, so they could protect her.

Rosalie was thinking about the hunters, wondering how they could slow them down like they had with James.

"I lied to her. The darkest, most painful of lies. I hated myself for it, I still do. It hurt me so much when I realized she believed me. I could see she did, and it made it harder, I think, that she believed. Now to hear one of my own lies in her letter…it's like the part of me that has been missing since we left Forks is tearing a little bit more. I'm not whole without her, and I told her she didn't belong in our world."

He heard Alice swear violently in several languages in her head.

"It doesn't matter where we are. We belong together. I don't care how long it takes - I will fix this. I'll find some way to fix it."

Fifteen minutes later, Alice found herself sitting in front of the desk, thinking of writing Bella a letter. She didn't know how long it would take them to see her again, and she wanted Bella to know how much she was missed. She was about to put the pen to paper when she had her next vision.

There was a cloaked figure standing in the shadows of a brightly lit city. It was night, but there were lights everywhere. Alice couldn't see his face. He crept further into the alley and was met by another. She could tell from the way they moved they were vampires and the first one spoke obviously male.

'We tracked her to the airport. We don't know what she was doing there. However she didn't stay long, she headed north by bus. We lost her scent at the river, we don't know where she got out - but we will find her trail soon.' A voice spoke from under the second cloak. The voice held no emotion.

'This is not good news. Orders have changed - Caius says she is to be considered a rogue newborn." Suddenly the voice took on a hint of excitement. "We are to follow protocol."

Alice came out of the vision, and Edward was once again being restrained by Emmett. Carlisle asked first.

"What did you see?"

Alice could only stare at Edward pleadingly. She couldn't say it.

Edward sagged against Emmett, knowing he wouldn't be able to protect Bella from this on his own.

"The Volturi. They're the ones hunting Bella. Caius declared her a rogue newborn, since she is alone."

Carlisle was puzzled by that. There has to be majority, why did the order come from Caius alone?

"But that means they'll kill her." Esme sobbed tearlessly.

"Not if we get to her first. Alice, can you see if they will find her tomorrow?" Carlisle asked.

"No. They're still trying to find her trail tomorrow."

"Do you know who they sent?"

"I have never met any of them and they never spoke their names. It was a male and a short female."

They all sat in silence, thinking on this latest development. Bella was in a great deal of trouble. The Volturi had some of the best trackers in the world, and it wouldn't be long before they found her.

They just had to hope they figured out what to do - before it was too late.

* * *

Bella followed the river for miles. She didn't know for how long, but she was starting to get hungry again. Being in the airport had been really hard; she had stolen a man's sunglasses to hide her eyes, and some money so she would be able to get a post office box on the way.

She knew the Volturi would be after her by now, and she wondered who they would send. She knew that Demetri would be useless in her case, so maybe Felix. There were others, but she didn't know their names.

When the river widened into a lake, Bella couldn't believe her luck when she spotted the bear fishing in the shallows.

After she finished, she buried the body in hopes that finding it wouldn't help her pursuers find her trail. She still couldn't stand to see her own eyes. She ran until she found a small town, so she could figure how to get back to check if Carlisle had written her back. She snuck into the bed of a pickup truck headed in the right direction while the driver got gas.

It was the middle of the night, so a few hours later the driver pulled over and she got out and started running again. It was going to be clear today, which was working against her. She didn't know how she would get to the post office without being caught in the sun.

Because of that it was dusk by the time she made it, and she had to break in to check because it was closed for the night. She felt something lighten inside her when she saw the message from Carlisle.

She now had his scent for reference too, which couldn't hurt. The alarms were going off so she quickly left. She found an alley sometime later; she hid in the back and opened the letter slowly, wondering what she might find.

Bella,

I'm glad you found a way to contact me. I want you to know we have been very worried. We heard about your illness and we have been looking for you. Alice and Esme miss you a great deal, and we would like to see you again. If possible, please meet me at the Coliseum. I will be alone. You do not have to see anyone else unless you want to. I want to give you a phone you can use to contact us in an emergency. Please come to meet me, Bella. Esme and I see you as one of our own, no matter what happens. I'm pleased and proud you have chosen to live like us. I hope in time you will consider coming to stay with us, but I understand if you feel you can't do that. If nothing else we can help you get away from whoever is hunting you. I eagerly hope to see you soon – remember, you are family to us.

Carlisle

For the first time in a long time, Bella felt a small amount of happiness. They still cared. She still didn't want to see Edward, but she wasn't going to pass up the chance to see Carlisle and the rest of the family. The thought that she wouldn't be completely alone drove away some of her anxiety…she might not see them often, but they could keep in touch.

She put the letter in her bag and took off running again. She didn't know how long it would take her to get there, but she had to make sure she didn't miss him.

* * *

Brian stood in the shadows near the post office.

He could smell that she had been here. He was a good tracker, but he had still lost her. He counted it as luck that he stumbled across her trail on his way back to the airport. He was going to try to learn what she had done there. He knew, with the police there, that it would be hours before he would be able to see what she had been after in the post office.

He thought of the call he had to make to tell them he had found her trail. He knew who would be going with him, and shuddered at he thought. Jane had requested this assignment…she was still bitter that Bella seemed immune to her gift. She had been very pleased when the order came that they could kill her.

He honestly didn't think she deserved to die - she seemed stable. Normally they could follow a newborn by the trail of bodies, but she had entered a busy international airport and not bitten any of them.

He didn't understand why she had left Volterra, or how she had known about the passage. But his orders were clear - kill the rogue newborn. He pulled out the phone hidden in his cloak. He had to admit that technology had made his job considerably easier in recent years. He still remembered sending reports back to Volterra on horseback, or using trained courier birds.

Jane answered her cell on the first ring.

"Have you found her yet?"

"I located her trail; she seems to be in Rome again."

"Good, stay where you are. I will come to you."

He gave her his location and then waited.

* * *

Carlisle was waiting inside when Bella got there.

She almost sobbed with relief at seeing him. He immediately pulled her into a hug, and he looked her over. It was obvious she hadn't stopped running for long. She had mud all over her, and she smelled like she had been swimming.

He felt bad that this had happened. He knew it could have been prevented had he insisted they stay in Forks.

"Are you okay, Bella? How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine now. I really haven't given myself time to think about anything but running for days."

"Here, this is for you. It's waterproof so you won't ever have to worry about it, and Alice's as well as my cell number are already programmed in. I want you to call if you ever need to, for anything."

"Thank you. This means so much…I thought for awhile I would be alone in this life. Knowing I'll be able to contact you at least is a comfort."

"I have a hotel nearby. Would you like to get cleaned up a little, and maybe see Alice and Esme?"

"I would really like that…will…he be there?"

"Not if you don't want him to be. He's not mad, about this. He was worried too when he heard what had happened to you."

Bella thought over that one. Why would he have been worried? The only thing she could think of was that he felt guilty over her being changed, or perhaps he felt somehow responsible for bringing vampires into her life.

"He doesn't have to be. I'll be okay." She took a deep breath; she still didn't think she was ready to see him. She was about to tell Carlisle that when his cell phone went off.

He answered it and Bella heard a frantic Alice on the other line.

"Carlisle, you and Bella need to get out of there! The hunters' future blurs in five minutes."

* * *

Yes, yes let the screaming begin.

Please review

I

V


	11. Chapter 11

Have I mentioned I love you guys? Everyone who has been with me from the start and every new penname I see in my review box. You guys are the highlight of my day, it makes me a little sad though that the story will have to end eventually. Well her is more to cry at, this one is even more emotional than the last chapter. Thank you again and please review, it's '_my exact brand of heroin'_.

* * *

Chapter 11 – Reunions and the final breakdown

"Carlisle, you and Bella need to get out of there! The hunters' future blurs in five minutes."

Carlisle looked at Bella

"I understand, thank you Alice. Get everyone and meet us at the park."

"Okay."

"What was that about? What did she mean the future blurs?" Bella asked.

"I'll explain on the way. The ones who are hunting you must have found your trail. They will be here in less then five minutes. Come with me, we will protect you."

"Okay." She didn't think…she knew she would need help.

They took off and Bella quickly realized that she was faster than Carlisle, and slowed down slightly.

"Alice has been trying to locate you for weeks, but something has been blocking her visions of you. She can't see you clearly, however she can still see everything else. She has been watching the hunters since we got your letter. If their future blurred it means they found you."

"What could be blocking Alice? Has this ever happened before?"

"No. We're more confused about this than you are. What she could see of you changed so frequently and completely that we couldn't find you that way."

"How long have you been looking for me?"

"We have been searching since you left Paris." Bella saw a park with sporadic trees ahead. "We're here."

Bella was fighting the urge to run. She could smell the other vampires, and she had to keep reminding herself that these were family. The next thing she knew, she felt as though she was hit with a boulder.

She immediately grabbed the fabric covering it and, without thinking, threw it several feet way. She landed in a crouched position waiting for the next attack, until she saw the boulder stand up with a booming laugh.

"Agile little thing." She recognized Emmett. "Alice, I think you have competition there."

She smiled as she straightened, realizing that it hadn't been an attack.

"Thank god you guys are here. What now?" Esme asked.

"We need to get the cars - we have to get to Volterra. The hunters won't stop until they're called off. We have to speak with Aro and Marcus, I think Caius sent them on his own."

"What? I can't go back! They told me I had to stay there because I was new. I won't stay - I can't live like that!"

Jasper sent her a wave of calm and watched as her shoulders relaxed.

"We are not asking you to. The rule is you have to have someone to look after you. You can stay with us, or if you prefer one of us can stay with you for the first year. Then you can be on your own again." Bella heard a sudden intake of breath from one of them, but didn't pay attention to which.

"We could just fight." This was Emmett, and Bella was surprised at the tone of his voice. He seemed like he wanted to fight them. She couldn't live with herself if she tore this family apart.

"No, I won't have them after you. They want me to join the guard…I'll return to Volterra on my own if I have too."

"It's too late for that," Rosalie said. "When they track you here they will know we were with you, and we are not leaving you alone again."

Bella looked at Rosalie and saw the determination, but under that there was something else that left her feeling something she hadn't felt since before the Volturi turned her.

"We have to get going - they can't be far behind. The cars are waiting on the other side of the park." Jasper looked ready for battle.

Bella felt her chest tighten as she looked around at the Cullens, all fully ready to defend her. She knew if she could, she would be crying right now. She saw Edward standing farthest from her, and her sense of belonging dimmed a little. The hole in her chest throbbed as their eyes met for the first time.

She looked away first, and followed as Alice led the way to the cars. She was pushed into the first of two sedans with dark windows, and she watched as Jasper reached the cars last - still watching behind them until he slid into the passenger seat of the second car.

Rosalie was driving and Carlisle sat in the passenger seat, while Alice sat in the back next to Bella.

"Thank god," She said as she threw her arms around Bella - in what would have been a bone-crushing hug a few weeks earlier. "I thought we would never find you."

Bella wrapped her arms around the small frame next to her and let the comfort of their presence wash over her. Her chest was still bleeding from seeing Edward for the first time in months. She wanted to cry, but knew she couldn't. She was struck again by just how unfair the whole thing was.

"I'm sorry I pulled you all into this."

Carlisle spoke from the front seat.

"Bella, we have been searching for you since your father told us you were ill. The truth was, I was going to offer to turn you as soon as we found you."

Bella looked down at her hands. Would it hurt them to know she would have turned them down? They deserved to know.

"The Volturi did offer. I turned them down."

Alice gasped beside her.

"Why would you do that, Bella? It's what you always wanted…"

"I told them I didn't want to live an eternity in pain. I didn't want to be alone forever."

"Bella…"

"I understand he doesn't love me. I know what I was, but it doesn't mean I will ever stop loving him. They believed I would forget about him with the change. Aro was fascinated by my ability to block him from my mind. He wanted to see what I would be capable of as a vampire."

"They wanted you to join the guard as a shield." Carlisle said.

"Yes. They brought me an old woman the day I was changed. She was blind and so scared…I hated myself at that moment, because she smelled so good. I held my breath until they took her away, and that night I made them take me to the forest."

"That took a great deal of strength, Bella. I can say I'm proud you could do that." Bella smiled.

"It didn't stop the pain. I had come to accept that I would die. Part of me, a small part, welcomed it."

Bella heard the steering wheel groan under Rosalie's hands. Alice just held her tighter. Carlisle felt disappointed in his eldest son for the first time.

"I lived with pain for so long, not just from the illness. I didn't want to hurt anymore, now I wonder if it will ever fade."

* * *

In the other car, Jasper was being choked by the emotions coming off of Edward. One moment he wanted to kill something, the next he felt relief, then worry, pain, loss, envy, happiness, anxiety. He tried several times to level Edward out, but it never lasted.

"Edward, calm down, Bella's going to be fine now." Esme was sitting behind Edward, who was driving. Emmett was sitting next to her, and Jasper was in the front.

"I'm sure that Carlisle can convince the Volturi to let us take her. That's not what worries me. She wouldn't even look at me in the park…what if she doesn't want me anymore? She didn't even want me to know what had happened to her. I want to tell her it was all a lie, that it was the biggest mistake I have ever made. But what if she won't listen, what if she doesn't want to hear it?"

"She wants to hear it, Edward. I haven't felt pain like that since the first month after we left. Her pain is almost physical, especially when she looked at you. She still loves you Edward. Convincing her you still love her…that might be harder."

"I still say we should have stayed and fought those hunters." Emmett grumbled.

"That wouldn't have helped Bella and you know it. They would have just sent more." Jasper replied.

"Yeah, but it would have made me feel better."

* * *

Jane was quietly seething. She had escaped again. This time with several other vampires.

"Two cars," Brian said. "It shouldn't be too hard to follow them. A group that size makes it easy."

Jane just snarled and saw about breaking into one of the nearest cars. Less than a minute later, they were on the road following them. It didn't take either of them long to realize where they were headed. Though why they would go back to Volterra, Jane couldn't guess.

She pulled out her cell phone and called Volterra to warn them they were on there way.

* * *

Alice's next vision came on suddenly. She saw the hunters on the phone with someone, telling them Bella and several others vampires were headed to Volterra.

"Shit." She spat.

"What is it, Alice?"

"They know we're coming. The hunters figured out where we were going. I don't think we will reach the gates at this rate."

"We can go in the way I came out - it takes you into the library."

"No, we can't look like we are attacking. For now, we need to hide. Head for the mountains Rose." Carlisle said.

"Leave me here." Bella pleaded. "They're after me, they will follow me. I don't want any of you getting hurt."

"Not going to happen Bella," Rosalie ground out as she floored the gas peddle.

An hour later they reached the mountains, and to their luck it was lightly raining. It would hide their trail. They found a hotel and Esme arranged for a large room.

The first thing Alice did when they got inside was shove Bella into the bathroom, and she passed some of her own clothes to her since all of Bella's clothes had been in the mud with her.

Bella let the water run as hot as she could stand it and watched the mud run down the drain. She felt better after she finished showering, and brushed out her hair. She put on Alice's clothes and felt civilized for the first time in days.

She walked out of the bathroom, leaving her soiled clothes and jacket behind. Jasper and Emmett were looking over what looked like a map of the mountain

Alice looked like she was meditating in a corner. Bella noticed for the first time she looked like she hadn't eaten in days; her eyes had the dark purple smudges she had come to associate with their hunger. She looked around and realized they all appeared to be the same. She felt guilty suddenly - how could she have brought this on them?

"It's not your fault, Bella."

She felt the hole in her chest rip open again. No dream or memory had done his voice justice, and she wanted to hide. She wasn't ready for this, not yet.

"Yes it is. I brought the Volturi on you. If I hadn't been selfish and contacted Carlisle, then you would all be safe." She finally turned to look at him, and the pain nearly sent her to her knees. "It's my fight. I love your family too much…I should have realized what this would do."

Edward felt a sharp stab in his chest. '_Not me. She loves my family too much…not me_.'

He couldn't stop staring at her. She had always been beautiful to him. Now she was heartbreaking, in so many ways. Her scent still called to him, but it wasn't her blood now - his throat didn't burn. He wanted so much to kiss her…he still remembered exactly what she had felt like in his arms. What would she feel like now?

"It wouldn't have stopped us. We wouldn't have stopped until we found you."

Bella wanted to believe he meant that the way it sounded. She moved away to stare out the window at the forest. She didn't want them hurt, she wanted to protect them from this.

She knew she would have to run. She would go back the way they had come and find the hunters - she was sure that she could lead them away. She would wait until they weren't looking, then she would sneak out.

She heard Alice growl and turned around. She was still sitting on the floor, but now she looked mad.

"Do you honestly believe we would fall for that twice Bella? You snuck off to face James alone – you're not doing it again." Bella stared at Alice. Carlisle broke the suddenly tense atmosphere.

"What makes you think Bella is planning to face them alone?"

"Because I saw it. I don't know how, but I saw it as clear as I see her now."

"Why would you do that, Bella?" Edward asked

"I can't do this to you. I can't see any of you hurt. I can go back and tell them I met you by accident, and they will leave you all alone."

"But they will kill you." Edward tried to reason.

"I don't care! I asked them to kill me." She exploded. Edwards unbeating heart constricted in his chest, he wanted her to take it back, but she continued. "I don't want to live with this pain. I don't want to spend eternity loving someone who only saw me as a drug. I should have died long ago - Edward, Tyler, James, Laurent, Victoria, and then the cancer. I'm not supposed to be here, putting you all in danger…" She fell to her knees, then broke down and began to sob. "I don't belong here."

Edward couldn't speak. He knew his family was appalled, the range of their thoughts told him that. But it was nothing compared to how ashamed he was with himself. She _wanted_ to die…what had he done?


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you again my wonderful reviewers I won't bore you long but I wanted to give out one acknowledgement to Mkitkat. Yes the necklace Billy gave her made from the werewolves' hair and teeth was what was blocking Alice's visions. Here's the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 12 – Jane's spite

Edward couldn't speak. He knew his family was appalled, the range of their thoughts told him that. But it was nothing compared to how ashamed he was with himself. She wanted to die…what had he done?

He moved forward and knelt down next to Bella, who still had her face buried in her hands. He put his arms around her and held on, even when she began to fight him

She couldn't believe she had said that out loud…she would have been scarlet if she could still blush. She wanted to vanish, go somewhere she would never be found. She eventually stopped struggling

"Can you guys let us talk alone?"

'_I think you have said quite enough_.' Alice thought.

"Be that as it may, Alice, I would like the chance." He said back evenly

One by one, the Cullens left the room and left them sitting on the floor. Bella broke the silence first.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." She tried to pull away again, but he still wouldn't let go. "I didn't mean to up set your family."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. They're not upset with you. They're all mad at me."

"Why would they be mad at you?" Edward picked Bella up and set her in his lap, tucking her head under his chin. He somehow felt this would be easier if he couldn't see her face.

"I lied to you Bella, about so many things. I messed up so thoroughly I'm not sure the damage is repairable. I meant to protect you, but instead I made things so much worse."

"What do you mean?"

"I love you," He breathed. "So much that these months without you I could barely function. Nothing mattered to me anymore. I couldn't play the piano, I couldn't hunt. I spent most of my time curled up on the floor. It was like I left vital pieces of myself in Forks…with you."

"But-"

"Please let me finish, I need to get this out. I wanted so many times to come back for you. I had to tell myself, over and over, it was for your own safety. I really believed you would be better off without me bringing danger into your life. I have never been more wrong about anything, and I don't expect you to ever forgive me. Just please know that I will spend the rest of my existence trying to make it right. I thought you deserved something better."

"Better than you?"

"Yes."

Bella pulled away, and this time he let her. She stared into his eyes for a moment, and he missed her chocolate eyes.

"Edward, there is nothing better than you."

She grabbed a handful of Edwards's hair and dragged his lips to hers. She felt the hole in her chest seal closed, like it had never been there. For the first time since she woke up in that cell, she thought of the future without dread.

It was even better than she remembered. She took advantage of his surprised gasp and deepened the kiss. He pulled her closer, using the arm still around her waist, and threaded the other into her hair.

Outside the hotel, Alice just smiled. She could see clearly again, and she knew her family was finally going to be whole again.

"What are you smiling about?" Emmett asked

"I think we can go back in now." She headed back to the hotel. She got there first and thought, '_You might want to let up - we're coming in_.'

The family was happy to see Bella smiling in Edwards lap. She looked relaxed and happy.

'_Congratulations, Edward_.' Carlisle thought.

* * *

The next day the rain was worse, and they knew they had to move. They left the cars at the hotel and took off running for Volterra. The plan was to go in through one of the guard's doors, and then make their way to the council chamber.

Luck was not on their side, however, when Edward heard the thoughts of someone following them.

"We have company." Edward said.

"How many?" Emmett asked

"Just one for now."

They were traveling for about another 20 minutes before Edward heard him thinking again.

'_I don't see why we have to kill her. She has proven she's not dangerous to humans_.'

"Stop." Edward said, halting everyone's movements. "He's not hostile, he may be able to help us get in."

They waited, and a minute later they knew he was in hearing range.

"We know you're there. We're not going to fight, we would like to speak to you." Carlisle took the role of speaker. A moment later, a cloaked figure stepped into sight.

"What did you wish to discuss?"

"I'm sure you have a way of communication with Volterra. I want to speak with the council; I am an old friend, and I would like to take charge of this young lady. I was wondering if you could inform them that Carlisle would like to see them in the forest behind Volterra."

"I have orders to kill her." He watched them shift, preparing for an attack.

"You don't want to, though. You don't think she's a danger." Edward spoke

"How did you know?"

"It's pretty clear that you're not prepared to attack at the first opening you see. If you believed she needed to die, you wouldn't be talking to us."

"Fair enough. I'll call…I don't know how well this will be received. However you'd best keep moving - I'm not the only one after you."

"Who else did they send?" Carlisle asked

"Jane has been with me since Bella left Volterra, and Alec joined her last night. They are trying to circle around and cut you off."

"Thank you very much for your help. Come, we have to move faster."

The whole group could feel the tension in Carlisle at the names – Jasper's gift wasn't needed to feel it. They took off running.

"I take it you have met Jane?" Bella asked

"Yes, many years ago."

"I don't know how bad she was then, but I need to warn you…she really hates me. I'm immune to her gift, and she never liked that. I didn't fear her like everyone else." Bella thought of Jane attacking her family, and felt the same burning anger she had felt the day she was turned.

"You're immune to Jane as well?"

Bella just nodded from her position next to him. She felt that bubble forming again, the one that seemed tied to her anger. She still didn't understand the feeling, so she ignored it. But it never went away.

"What exactly is her gift, and does this Alec have a special ability too?" Jasper asked.

"Jane and Alec are twins, and yes he has an ability too." Bella started. "Though his was never explained to me fully."

"He causes complete sensory deprivation. You cannot see, hear, smell, taste or feel. It can be very disorienting, and completely debilitating. Jane can cause immeasurable pain - I have never experienced it, so I couldn't tell you what it's like." Carlisle filled in the details to everyone.

"More than the ability to cause pain - she _likes _to cause pain. She's highly sadistic, even though she looks little more than a child. I'd say she was about 9 or 10 when they turned her." Bella continued

"What about their own laws about immortal children?" Rosalie asked.

"They are too old for that, they probably had them for years before they were turned. They would have waited until they were old enough to be trained." Bella replied.

"Alice, have the elders chosen to meet with us?" Edward asked

"Aro has, he wants to see Carlisle again. He's sending word to the others, so they haven't made their decisions yet." She replied.

"Jane and Alec are almost here. They're running parallel about a mile out, but they're getting closer. I can hear their thoughts now."

"Marcus just chose to meet with us. Caius is furious, but he feels he must be here if his brothers are. Shit - Jane and Alec are going to catch up to us just outside Volterra. We will have to defend ourselves until the elders get there." Alice said

Bella's anger flared, and the bubble inside her flared with it. It expanded and contracted around her. She could feel it shifting, but it never touched anyone else.

Minutes later, they could see the towers of Volterra through the trees.

"30 seconds" Alice whispered. They all knew it was Jane and Alec.

"Remember to defend yourselves only, we cannot kill them." Carlisle said

Bella knew, however, that the two of them together could incapacitate everyone. She knew she was immune to Jane, however she didn't know if she would be immune to Alec. She hoped she was, because she would have to protect her family until the elders arrived.

"How long until the elders get here?" Carlisle asked

"They are just summoning bodyguards, so 3 minutes. They know we are under attack, and Aro and Marcus are moving quickly."

Her whole family could be burning in three minutes.

Her anger, so strong up to this point, flared so much that the strain on the bubble broke like a rubber band. The bubble grew in size until every one of her family would have been inside it, but no one said anything. It immediately shrank back and returned to its original size.

They heard the snarl first, and turned to face Jane and Alec where they came out of the trees.

"Hand over the newborn. We have orders to eliminate her - if you just give her to us you may leave." Alec said in his disturbingly child-like voice.

"Actually, we are here to see Aro to discuss that. He is on his way here if you are willing to wait a few moments." Carlisle spoke in a polite diplomatic voice.

"If you do not give her to us, you will be seen as in league with her and we will eliminate you as well."

"I understand your orders," Carlisle continued. "However she has killed no one, nor has she exposed us in anyway-"

Edward interrupted Carlisle.

"NO! Carlisle!" The next thing Bella heard was Edward's scream as he jumped in front of his mentor. He fell to the ground and convulsed as he continued to scream. A moment later, Rosalie and Emmett started screaming and fell.


	13. Chapter 13

Well here is the end my faithful readers, this is the last chapter. There is an epilog with the beta but this story is now coming to its close. I cannot tell you how much you all have meant to me, your constant support and praise has made my days. Any reviews pertaining to the grammar, spelling or flow have been forwarded on to my beta because if it weren't for her no one would read my work. The journey has been great but all things must end, I hope you like the way this one does.

Chapter 13 – Bella's final fate

"NO! Carlisle!" The next thing Bella heard was Edward's scream as he jumped in front of his mentor. He fell to the ground and convulsed as he continued to scream. A moment later, Rosalie and Emmett started screaming and fell.

Bella felt her vision turn red and a snarl escaped her. The bubble she didn't truly understand flung outward from her body - encasing her family - and the screams immediately died. Realizing almost immediately what she had done, Bella attempted to hold the bubble out this time. She found that she could shape and flex it, just like a muscle.

Edward slowly stood and looked at Jane. Rosalie and Emmett were still on the ground, though Emmett was holding his wife to make sure she was all right.

Jane and Alec appeared confused for a moment. Bella could feel spears lancing into the shield at her family, then suddenly they stopped. Jane looked at Bella, and Bella couldn't help herself. She winked at her.

Edward heard Jane's frustration. He didn't understand what was happening either. It was unheard of for such a large group to be resistant to her abilities. He heard her next thought and turned to look at Bella with her, and saw Bella smirk and wink.

Bella had done this?

He didn't have time to think on that before he heard Jane's angry snarl. He turned in time to see Alec hold her back. He then stepped forward, and a strange dirty mist began to crawl across the forest floor.

Edward moved to stand next to Bella.

"How are you doing this?" The whole family turned to look at Bella.

"I don't know."

"Can you hold off Alec's attack?" Jasper asked.

"I don't know. I don't remember them ever using it on me."

Bella pulled the shield in a little closer in hopes that it would be strong enough to protect her family. They held their breath as the mist seemed to hit a wall, and then began creeping up and over them.

Once it was obvious that it couldn't pass through, they all relaxed. Though Jane seemed to be getting angrier. Edward could hear her thinking, wondering how they were going to get through to kill Bella. She knew they didn't have much time, and neither she nor Alec had ever learned how to fight hand to hand.

Edward suddenly laughed as the mist dissipated.

"What could possibly be funny right now?" Bella asked.

"It seems Jane and Alec never saw a need to learn to fight fair. They have always relied on their gifts to debilitate their victims. Now they have no idea how to proceed against 8 vampires who are fully capable."

Alec hissed, and Jane just scowled. It was obvious to everyone they didn't like this situation.

"The council will be here any moment." Alice said, and like she had summoned them with her words, the Cullens were suddenly surrounded.

Emmett, Bella, and Jasper dropped into defensive positions.

"It's just a precaution." Edward said, reading the minds around him. "They have orders not to attack."

"Carlisle, my old friend. It's been too long." Aro said, gliding closer. He didn't quite enter Bella's shield, but she pulled it back anyway while still keeping her family covered.

"Centuries." Carlisle agreed. "We were just on our way to see you when we were unintentionally detained. I'm hoping we can clear up this unfortunate misunderstanding quickly."

Marcus and Caius had joined him now, and Marcus briefly placed his hand in Aro's. It was a gesture Bella had become familiar with. She wondered what small observation he had given to Aro this time.

"How very wonderful!" Aro exclaimed. "So this is the one you loved, my dear Bella? How wonderful that you are reunited! Are you not glad now that I spared your life when you asked me to end it?"

Bella felt Edward cringe beside her, so she reached out and took his hand.

"Yes, it did turn out well in the end. I'm thankful for that," She said deliberately.

"It was such a pity when you left us, we have missed you a great deal. However it seems you have found old friends. I would love to understand how it is you all know each other."

'_So Marcus saw the bond we all share with Bella_.' Edward thought. He heard the thoughts in Caius' mind and nearly growled. He was seething over the fact that they would no longer be able to eliminate Bella as a rogue vampire. He saw her gift as a threat, because their greatest weapons were useless against her.

Aro, on the other hand, seemed delighted with Bella. He really wanted her for his collection, though the thought made Edwards skin crawl. Marcus was even stranger - he was fascinated by her. Her ability to stand up to them, her self control, and the strength of her mind. He felt she was a relief from the tedium - neither he nor Aro wanted her to die.

"I would be glad to explain." Carlisle said, holding his hand out.

"No, Carlisle. I think it would be best if I showed him, it's only appropriate." Edward said.

"What a wonderful idea young man." Aro seemed very enthusiastic. Edward turned to Bella then.

"Let me out." He said. She just nodded though it looked like it pained her to do it.

Aro looked on, puzzled at the exchange.

"All will be explained momentarily." Edward walked several steps toward Aro and stopped. The little vampire in Aro's shadow whimpered as usual when Aro stepped forward. Aro reached out and took Edward's hand. Bella suddenly realized this gave Aro access to everyone's thoughts, as well as every one of Alice's visions. She didn't know if this was a good idea anymore. However, she trusted Edward to know what he was doing.

The time seemed to drag on. She kept watch on Jane, who was inching forward like she couldn't help herself.

She wondered at the abilities of this larger shield. Could Edward hear what the rest of the family was thinking from outside the circle? She knew she could block Jane and Alec, so she assumed it was the same as the shield that protected her own mind.

The guard started to get antsy as the time continued on. Edward muscles strained at times, and Bella wondered what Aro was seeing, as well as what Edward was reading back from his mind.

Suddenly Aro's eyes shot open, and Edward relaxed as he took his hand back.

"Extraordinary! La_ tua cantante_! I would never believe a human could have such a strong pull and be resisted. Carlisle, my friend, I never thought I would see you bested for your self control. But here in Edward you may be bested yet. Though Bella also shows a great deal of it."

"We would very much like to take responsibility for her from this point on. I realize she will need supervision for some time as she is still young. She has already shown a preference to our choice of diet, and as you can tell we are very fond of her." Carlisle spoke formally. Edward walked back over and pulled Bella close to his side. Bella sighed in relief as she felt her shield cover him again.

Caius hissed, feeling his idea of justice being taken away.

"Ah yes," Aro began. "That would allow us to put this whole mess behind us. However, we would like to extend our invitation once again that Bella may stay here with us. What a gift! To hold all whom you love within your protection from both Alec and Jane. We could give you anything you want, even your freedom to come and go as you please." Edward and Caius growled low. Aro ignored his brother. "Of course, Edward, you are welcome to join us as well. Your talents would be of great use here."

Edward knew how he felt about it. He would never be comfortable living away from his family. He looked down at Bella, remembering her emphatic refusal to live there, and only smiled when she looked up at him with worry in her eyes.

"I think I speak for both of us when I politely decline."

"Bella?"

"I'm very sorry, Aro, but I have to agree with Edward."

"Ah…such a waste. But perhaps little Alice would be inclined to join us?"

Alice just shook her head, and Jasper wrapped an arm around her waist.

Caius looked furious. '_Why doesn't Chelsea's power work_?" he thought. Edward caught on from one of the thoughts that had gone through the mind of one of the other vampires. '_He was trying to weaken us,'_ Edward thought. '_Our bonds to each other.'_

"You can tell Chelsea to stop now, Caius. She can't even find our bonds to break them." Edward said

"What are you talking about?"

"Peace brother, there is nothing to be hasty about. It seems our dear Bella's ability has grown. She holds them all protected, even as we speak. Imagine the potential - they do not join us now, but perhaps later."

Caius looked at Bella, and Jasper felt the fear behind his anger.

'_Edward, we need to watch Caius. He will look for something else against us - he fears Bella_.'

Edward just nodded. He knew that majority ruled among the council. Caius would not be able to do anything if Marcus and Aro voted to let her live, and he could see in their thoughts they would.

Edward decided to ask they put it to a vote, and waited as the vision filled Alice's mind. He smiled, seeing it play out.

"Caius still seems uncertain about whether Bella should be punished for running away. I'm sure a decision like that would have to be voted on." Edward said, making Caius scowl.

Bella knew what Edward was doing, and knew also that he would not have said something like that without being sure of the outcome.

"Another excellent idea," Aro said, and Edward saw in his mind he had been thinking the same thing after having seen that Caius had been working outside the Council. Not even Caius would be stupid enough to go against his own laws.

"Marcus, what say you? Should we allow this young one to live?"

"Yes, she poses no threat." Edward read once again his interest, and his selfish reason for letting her live. So little interested him.

"I say she broke our laws when she left Volterra on her own. She should pay the price."

Several member of Bella's family hissed at his statement.

"Then it appears the decision rests with me." He seemed to sigh over it. "Bella, you are free to leave with Carlisle at any time. However I do wish you will come and visit me from time to time. I will miss you very dearly."

Even Bella could see Jane and Caius were angry, but she wasn't worried. Bella kept her shield up as a precaution.

"In that case we will take our leave now." Carlisle said. "We really have to get back home, it took us quite some time to find Bella, as you know."

"Of course. We must also return, this miserable weather will not hold."

The Cullens stood still as the Volturi left.

Edward still hadn't let Bella go. As soon as the last of their thoughts were out of range, Edward relaxed.

"It's safe now," He said.

Bella let the shield shrink until she could no longer feel any of her family.

Esme was suddenly hugging Bella tight.

"Thank god that's over." She looked like she would be crying if she could. "Let's go home."

"That is the best idea I have heard in months." Bella replied. Edward picked her up and spun her around. Jasper laughed.

"Later, Edward. You have waited this long, you probably want to wait until we get back home."

"Oh hush, Jasper. I know what you're thinking about your wife right now."

Alice punched Edward's shoulder.

"I wouldn't be thinking that right at this moment if I wasn't picking up on your desire for Bella."

Everyone laughed as they took off running back to the cars.

They got back to the hotel, only to stay long enough to pack up their things. Alice convinced Bella to leave all of her old clothes, as they both agreed they were ruined. Esme and Rosalie helped with that argument. She took her personal items, IDs, money, and the pictures of her family and friends.

She left her jacket and backpack behind in the trash can.

Within 36 hours they were back in their home in Denali. Though Bella had never been there before, she felt that instant warmth of knowing she belonged.

Edward hadn't let go of her since they left Italy. She wasn't about to complain. No one had spoken much on the way back, but the silence was peaceful.

Edward led Bella upstairs as soon as they got there, and showed her the room that would be theirs. She sighed…it was so similar to the room he had had in forks. She saw a frame on the table by the couch turned down so you couldn't see the picture, and she walked over and picked it up. It was from the dance he made her go to. They were dancing, her standing on his feet.

She felt suddenly slightly angry. Why did he get to keep this, while she had been allowed nothing? It dissipated quickly though…he probably thought it would be easier to bear if she didn't have any reminders of him. Obviously, he couldn't handle this one.

He was standing behind her. She turned and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Where are my pictures? The ones you took from me?"

"Under the loose floor board under your bed in forks." He replied sheepishly.

"Why did you put them there?"

"Part of me hoped you would find them one day. I was selfish, I still am. I'm unbearably happy you're alive and here, and I get to keep you forever. I know I can never make up for the mistake I made, but I will spend every moment I have with you trying."

Edward's head lifted like he has listening to something else…or maybe someone. He laughed lightly.

"The families are going hunting. Emmett wants to see 'his little sister in action'. Do you want to go?"

She looked at the dark purple bruises under his eyes, and wondered how long it had been since he ate.

"Yes. You look terrible - and seeing as you don't seem to want to let me go…"

"We don't have to go. I'm okay."

"No you're not and we are going." She looked down at the beautiful blue sweater Alice had given her. "Although I'm going to need something to change into. I have yet to learn how to do this without making a mess."

They both heard the laugh from downstairs before they heard the knock on the door.

"Come in, Alice."

"Here's something for you to wear, it won't matter if you damage them in anyway."

"Thank you, Alice."

"I'll leave you alone." Edward said as he turned away from her toward the door. Bella grinned.

"You better not!"

Edward turned sharply to look at her. Then caught the slight grin from her teasing him.

"That's not funny."

"Oh, but it really was."

A few minutes later they were all leaving the house, Bella couldn't help the happiness welling up inside her. Edward loved her, they all loved her. She had family. She missed her mother, father and friends, but she knew that they would be okay.

Jasper moved closer to her as they ran deeper into the mountains.

"We all feel the same way, you know." He said

"Yeah I know, Jasper."

"We have something to show you when we get back to the house."

"What?" she asked

"Something Edward found in Paris."

Edward groaned, and Alice laughed. Now Bella was really curious about what this was.

Hours later, they returned to the house. Edward's eyes were once again the beautiful topaz Bella loved so much. Everyone else looked better as well.

"So what is it you wanted to show me?" Bella asked, curious.

"It's in the library." Esme said

She followed them down the hall and into a large room, where books lined two walls and the other two were floor to ceiling windows, just like their other home. Leaning against one of the book shelves was a package, about five feet tall and a little over 3 wide covered in brown paper.

"What is it?" Bella asked

Alice still wore that same smile. Edward was looking at the floor.

"Open it. Edward bought it in Paris, he really just couldn't walk away from it." Alice chirped.

Bella moved over to it a carefully unwrapped it. She recognized the painting immediately - she had stood still for hours while Magalie finished it.

"You guys met Magalie? How did you get her to sell you this?"

"Edward made her an offer she couldn't refuse."

Jasper laughed at Bella's embarrassment, and Edward's.

"Please tell me you're not going to hang this up."

"Sorry, Bella. It will probably go on the wall in the great room with the other family paintings," Carlisle said. It was the first time he had seen it, and he understood why Edward couldn't walk away without it.

Bella couldn't stop the smile at that. She was family, and her portrait would go with others of the family. It was a giddy and very pleasant feeling to belong.

"Well it's late, and I don't know about you guys but I'm dragging my wife to bed." Emmett said before they left the room.

"We will go clothes shopping tomorrow Bella!" Alice said, and Bella shuddered at her friend's enthusiasm.

The others drifted out after, leaving Edward and Bella alone staring at the portrait.

"So you had to have it huh?" Bella asked, teasing him again.

"It looked so much like you when I first saw it. It was like being punched by Emmett. I couldn't breath, I couldn't see anything else. My memories are supposed to be perfect, but I felt in that moment I hadn't remembered you at all. I never made the conscious decision to buy it. The offer just came out when we were talking with Magalie."

"I'm glad you bought it. It's beautiful, and it gives me something to look at and see myself for the next while."

"What do you mean?"

"My eyes. I can't stand to see them right now, they make me feel wrong. The only vampires I have known with red eyes have done so many horrible things. I don't want to be like that."

"You're not, Bella. You have done so well. I saw through Aro's mind how you wouldn't touch that blind woman, though you were only hours old. Only Carlisle has ever shown that kind of strength."

Edward moved them to the couch near the windows, and they sat looking out at the silvery landscape under the nearly full moon.

"How long do I have to wait before my eyes are like yours?"

"A few months, but they will become dull in a few weeks."

They sat there for hours…not speaking, just enjoying knowing that the other was there. Around dawn Edward broke the silence.

"Bella?"

"Yes, Edward?"

"Will you marry me?"

Bella sat up to look at him.

"What?"

"Marry me. Please." Bella melted at the pleading in his voice. "I don't ever want to be apart from you again. I know I don't need marriage for that, but please let me make it official."

"You're right, you don't…but yes. I'll marry you."

He smiled the crooked smile she had fallen so in love with, and with reverence pulled her to him and kissed her. He wasn't careful anymore, but he wasn't rough. He leaned her back on the couch and laid his body over hers. The kiss slid deeper, taking Bella mind under. She ran her tongue along his teeth and felt him shudder.

They lost track of time. It could have been minutes or hours before they heard people moving around the house. Edward pulled back.

"I'll be right back." He ran out of the room and she heard him go upstairs.

She heard Alice stop him on his way back and say congratulations. Everyone would know in an hour. Bella didn't care who knew. Edward returned and handed Bella a small black box.

"How long have you had this?"

"All my life. It was my mother's."

Bella felt her chest tighten. His mother's ring. She didn't care what it looked like - it would be perfect.

She opened it and fell instantly in love with it. It _was_ perfect.

He pulled it from the box and, kneeling on the floor in front of the couch, he took her left hand. It slid on perfectly. Bella wiggled her fingers and watched Edward's eyes light up

"It's a perfect fit. We don't even have to get it resized." He kissed the finger with the ring on it.

"You like that, don't you?" She teased again

He tried to make it no big deal, thinking about her issues with presents. But he couldn't help the grin at her words.

"Yes, I really like that."

He moved onto the couch and he lay down behind her, pulling her down so they were spooned together. Bella sighed in her happiness…everything was finally right. She knew that Alice was going to come barging in here soon, she wouldn't be able to hold her excitement for long. But for right now all she needed was right in that room.


	14. Epilog

Well here it is the LONG awaited epilog. I know a promised you I would never make you wait more than a week for updates, but my beta got a new comp and unfortunately her MS word and mine didn't speak the same language. I how ever just got my new comp and now they do again. So I hope you can forgive me, and yes I will now label the story as COMPLEAT.

WARNING: mush ahead, this is a lot of sap so if you liked the old ending stick with it and that's just fine.

* * *

Epilog

An hour later, Alice entered the room with a small pile of folded clothes.  
"Time to get dressed!" She declared enthusiastically. "We need to get you a new wardrobe…"  
"Cant you just go shopping for me?" Bella asked, far less enthusiastically. "You know my size, and you would be able to see what I would look like in everything."  
"Yes, but then you wouldn't have ANY say. And would you really want only what I would pick out for you?"  
Bella paused. "I see your point…." As Bella sat up she saw Edward smirk out of the corner of her eye. "Okay, Edward. Lets get dressed."  
"Actually...he can't come." Alice said pointedly.  
"What? Why?" Edward's arms tightened around Bella. Alice sighed.  
"You cannot come because that would spoil the surprise...and it would look very strange if you were there when we buy her new underwear."  
Edward looked down at Bella. She could read plainly that he didn't want to let her go.

"It's okay, Edward. We will be back in a few hours, and she's right - I do need clothes." Bella buried her face in his chest and just breathed in a moment. "I don't want to leave you either, but remember I will be back soon." She said standing, he followed.

"Why don't you spend this time tuning your piano?" Alice suggested

"Tuning it?" Bella asked.

"Remember when I said I haven't been able to play my piano? I haven't let anyone touch it since we left Forks," Edward said sheepishly. "I couldn't bear to hear it."

Once again, Bella saw that he had been in just as much pain as she had been. She stood on her toes and lightly kissed him.

"I agree with Alice, then. Will you play for me when we get back?"

"Anything you want me to."

"You know what I want to hear. I don't think I remember it very well."

Edward smiled down at her and nodded, then he released her and let her leave the room with Alice. He had been toying with an idea all night, and now would be a good time to work on it.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, all the Cullen women were piling into Carlisle's Mercedes. As soon as the car pulled out onto the main road, Alice turned to Bella and handed her a small plastic case.

"What's this?" she asked

"Contacts." Alice replied. "Trust me, its better than trying to act blind with sunglasses indoors. They're brown too; they will cover your current color, but you will need to put in a new pair in a few hours because the venom in your eyes will dissolve them over time."

"Oh. Thank you."

Alice then described how to put them on and held up a small mirror while Bella slid them into place.

It took an hour to get to the nearest town, even driving at vampire speeds. They started at the mall, and Alice seemed to get even more excited.

"Where to start?" She said to herself.

"Why don't we start with the basic essentials?" Rosalie suggested.

"Perfect." Alice then began marching toward Victoria secret.

Esme moved closer to Bella and took her left hand.

"It's beautiful, you know." She said softly. "And even more precious that it was his mother's. I have waited many years to see my oldest son happy, and I'm so very glad he found someone as wonderful as you. I'm even more pleased that the damage he caused last year was repairable. When we got the news of your illness I really believed I was going to lose two of my children. You to sickness, and Edward because he never wanted to out-live you." Esme took a shuddering breath. "You have no idea what a relief it is to have my family whole again. The house feels so much more like a home now that we are all back together. You brought something into our family when Edward first brought you home, something we didn't do very well without once it was gone."

They were approaching the doors to Victoria secret, and Alice was standing there tapping her foot.

"Okay, okay. That's enough mush - we have so much to do, and I only have 7 hours to get her home before Edward comes to get her anyway."

Bella laughed at that, and followed Alice into what was sure to be hell.

* * *

They spent over an hour in the first store, with Bella vehemently refusing several of the outfits shown to her by her sisters. Esme just grinned, but she would step in from time to time to help control Bella's sanity.

The next five hours Alice pulled them from shop to shop, picking up and discarding various items. Pants, skirts, t-shirts, blouses, shoes, shorts, jackets…etc.

Nothing was ever tried on. She would look over items like she was inspecting them, then either discard it or show it to Bella. It turned out to be less scary than she had anticipated.

The last store they entered turned out to be a bridal dress shop.

"I figured we should at least get an idea of what you're going to want at the wedding. There's a lot to plan for, so we need to get started as soon as possible."

"Alice…would you be horribly offended if I told you that you could plan my wedding to the last detail, as long as I have the right to rein you in should you begin to get a little excited?"

"No, I would be thrilled. Oh, it will be perfect! I have so many ideas and I know you and Edward will want it simple and classic and I can so do that. Thank you! This is going to be so much fun!"

Bella could see she had made Alice's year, and at the same time she had gotten herself out of most of the planning process.

They were leaving the dress shop and heading back to the car - finally. Bella was carrying a dozen bags herself, and Rosalie and Alice were carrying close to the same amount. Esme had several shoe boxes. She didn't even want to think how much this cost. Alice was still going on about wedding details.

"You and Edward would look stunning in classic black and white. We will have to have the photographer take a few."

They got into the car, and Bella couldn't wait to see Edward. She knew it would only be another hour, but she had gone so long without him she still didn't like the feeling of being away from him.

Halfway through the drive back to the house, Bella blinked and felt the contact lenses break apart in her eye.

She knew if she looked in the mirror right now her own eyes would disturb her. She thought about the wedding and realized they would have to wait a few months, because she didn't want to look back on one of the best days of her life and see red eyes. She wanted her eyes to be gold the day she officially became a Cullen.

She didn't like the idea of waiting that long, though.

* * *

Edward had finished tuning his piano and had been working on something new for several hours. He felt relief upon touching his keys after so long, and he couldn't help but notice his brothers and Carlisle came into the room from time to time. They never spoke to him, they just stood and listened.

It was refreshing, having the music fill the house once again. He smiled to himself; he finally understood that vampires didn't lose their souls when they became vampires. Part of him had been ripped apart when he had left Forks, and he had lost his ability to enjoy anything. Even in his human life music had been a part of him; he heard it in his mind all the time.

When that piece of him had been torn away, it was like the music was gone. He couldn't hear it and couldn't enjoy it. Now Bella had returned it to him, and it was flowing out of him just as it always had.

He stopped playing and just ran his fingers across the keys. Yes, he still had a soul and he had a soul mate. Carlisle had been right all along.

Edward turned to look at the door when he heard someone walk in.

"It's really good to hear that again." Carlisle said. "It's good to see you happy. That's all I have ever wanted for you. I'm glad you were able to make things right…I didn't like thinking about what would have happened otherwise." He smiled. "Also, congratulations are in order. Alice made sure to tell everyone this morning after Bella said yes."

"Thank you." Edward said. "I know what I put this family through, I heard it in your thoughts whenever one of you slipped. And I know I was wrong. I don't think I have ever been so wrong about anything."

"Well, it's past, and its best not to dwell on it. Better now to look to the future. We wont be able to pass Bella off as Jasper and Rosalie's sister, and I doubt it will go unnoticed that you are together. So the legal documents will have to list a different name. You will have to discuss that with her."

"I had a thought on that." Jasper said entering the room. "Bella's emotions were strongly euphoric when you proposed. I'm guessing she likes that she will be a Cullen. I don't know what name you should give her, but she needs to feel like family."

"Mason." Edward said. "She can be Mason. Only we will know she's still technically taking my name, and I think it will make her happy when we have to play human."

"Good idea. You should talk it over with her later. If she likes the idea we will contact our ID man in Seattle. Jasper…try not to scare him quite so much this time."

Jasper just grinned

An hour later, Edward heard the Mercedes driving up the road to the house. He could hear Alice's, Rosalie's, and Esme's thoughts. Alice was going on nonstop about preparations for the wedding. He knew it wouldn't take long for her to jump on that, and he couldn't help but wonder how Bella had handled the day. From what his family was thinking, she seemed to have enjoyed herself.

When he heard the car come to a stop and the engine turn off, he got up from his piano and ran outside. Bella had just stepped out of the car when Edward got to her and swept her up and spun her around. She laughed out loud and looked down at him.

"I missed you too." She said

"So, did you finish tuning your piano?" Alice had a knowing smile on her face.

"Yes I did." Esme put her hand on Edward's shoulder and lightly kissed his cheek.

"I'm glad. It's time you got back to that."

Edward let Bella slide down until her feet hit the ground, then he asked.

"So how was it? Was it torture?"

"Surprisingly no, although I think Alice bought me too much."

"I did not!" Alice called from the trunk. She pulled out over a dozen bags. "It just looks like a lot because we're starting from scratch. We still need to get you some decent evening gowns; unfortunately there aren't any decent stores around here."

Bella just shook her head, and walked to the trunk to grab another load of stuff.

* * *

It only took a few minutes to put everything away in the closet, then Bella sat on Edward's lap on the couch in his room.

"I seem to remember I owe you a song."

"Yes, you do as a matter of fact. I think Esme's looking forward to it too."

Edward picked Bella up as he stood to walk downstairs.

"I can walk you know." She said

"I know."

When they reached the music room everyone was already there.

Edward smiled, and placed Bella back on her feet once he reached the piano. She began to move toward one of the couches when he grabbed her hand and pulled her to sit next to him on the bench.

"I want you right here."

She smiled and placed her head on his shoulder, and watched with her breath held as he reached for the keys.

As the first notes filled the room, Bella closed her eyes and let herself feel. As requested, it was her lullaby. It was even more beautiful than she remembered, which might have been her new hearing…but she didn't care.

She opened her eyes halfway thought the song and saw Edward smiling down at her. She was almost disappointed when she heard her song coming to a close, but right after he began something she didn't recognize.

It was sad in some way; it felt like someone was crying. She listened and it pulled at her heart. She knew Edward had to have written it. He stopped playing and wrapped his arms around her.

"Its not finished, but it will be soon."

Bella didn't say anything. She just leaned into him for another moment, then stood and took his hand, pulling him up from the bench.

"I want to try something."

Alice, catching on in her own special way, got up with a grin and took a seat at the bench.

Bella took Edward's left hand in hers and placed it on her waist, and held his right with her left. Alice started playing and as the music filled the room, Edward finally caught on. He began moving Bella around in a traditional waltz.

He couldn't keep the grin off his face long.

"I thought you didn't like dancing."

"I thought I was dangerous to myself and to others before I was turned. Now I find that danger is not there." She laid her head on his chest and continued to move.

Jasper moved over and stood behind his wife while Emmett pulled Rosalie up from the recliner, and she put her head on his chest and they just swayed.

Esme leaned further into her husband and squeezed his hand. Everything was finally right.

Edward thought he couldn't be happier in that moment. It was like the months of hell had never happened. This was heaven, and it was real and nothing could shatter it. Bella was in his arms and she loved him as much as he loved her. He didn't care what her eyes looked like - he was just happy she was alive.

* * *

Later that night after everyone had gone to their rooms, Bella and Edward were lying together on his bed, her head on his chest.

"Edward…?"

"Yes?" She seemed to be wrestling with something.

"Never mind. It's not important."

"Please don't do that. I cant stand not knowing what you're thinking…tell me."

Bella remained silent, so he put a finger under her chin and lifted her face until she was looking at him.

"Please tell me." He pleaded

She sighed and nodded.

"You remember the time you told me I was your brand of heroine-"

"Bella please no, I told you it was a lie. I don't see you as a drug, I love you more than I can possibly explain."

"Oh, Edward - that's not what I meant. It's just…the way I smelled. I know the part of you that's vampire thirsted for my blood, but the part of you that's human was attracted too. I know my scent changed with the transformation…what I was wondering is, do I smell wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do I…not smell good to you now?"

"That's what you're worried about?" Edward asked.

"Yes," She breathed.

Edward would have laughed if she wasn't so serious - but this was important to her.

"Oh silly, silly Bella." He leaned down and brushed his nose over her head while inhaling deeply. "Bella, you have to understand. Your scent hasn't changed except that you smell colder. The part of me that has always been attracted to your scent still is, but now I'm not distracted by the smell of your blood. If anything now, your pull is stronger in that sense."

"Really?" She asked, looking up at him. He smiled down at her and kissed her.

It started out slow, and quickly became urgent. Bella wrapped her hands around his back and grabbed a fistful of his shirt. He turned them over and pushed her down into the mattress. When they broke apart, Edward brought her left hand to his lips and kissed the ring.

"You know I would marry you tomorrow if I could." He said

"I wouldn't mind that except…"

"What?"

"My eyes…" She looked down, away from him now. He pulled her gaze back to him, and thought he knew where this was going. "Alice wants to plan this huge wedding with photographers and cake, but I don't want to look back at the pictures of this day and see myself with red eyes."

"We don't have to have a big wedding. We could have something here, just the family. Emmett or Jasper could get the license and perform the ceremony."

"I want the big wedding with photos and the white dress, but I want my eyes to be a Cullen's eyes when they're taken. I just don't want to wait that long to be a Cullen."

"I understand…and I think I have a way to give you the best of both worlds."

"How?"

"We can get a simple hand fasting this week, tomorrow if that makes you happy. Then in a few months, when your eyes have turned completely gold, we can have the big wedding."

"You would be okay with that?"

"I want to make you happy, and if I can make you my wife sooner then I'm happy too."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug, mindful of what they told her about her strength.

"Thank you so much."

"I also wanted to talk to you about your last name. You will be a Cullen to us and to other vampires, however when we play human you and I can't have the same last name. And we will have to leave your last name behind for awhile."

"I understand."

"I was thinking for those documents, would you mind taking the name Mason? That way you would still be taking my last name, but it won't raise any suspicions."

Bella was speechless. His human name…

She looked down at the ring she wore and then back at him, and just nodded her heart to swollen in her throat to form words.

They heard someone approaching the door and turned in time to hear a knocking.

"Come in, Jasper." Edward said. Jasper pushed the door open.

"Hey, I just wanted to say we're all set for tomorrow if you want to do it. I figured I'm probably the better choice, otherwise Elvis will be performing the ceremony. So I just printed out my minister license and Alice found a white dress that will fit Bella. Not that we were eavesdropping or anything."

That said, he closed the door and walked back to his room.

Bella began laughing as soon as he closed the door.

"Well that settles it. I will be a Cullen tomorrow. They're wonderful, even if they do listen in."

* * *

The next day Bella was swept away into Alice's room at dawn. Rosalie set to work curling her hair, and then folded one side back and secured it with a comb that had a dark blue rose on it.

"Something borrowed, and blue." She said when Bella turned her head to look.

Alice helped Bella into a simple, floaty white summer dress.

"Something new. It's never been worn."

Esme held up the ring Edward had given her.

"Something old. It doesn't matter that its just a hand fasting - the traditions are important."

Bella hugged each of them in turn, and Rosalie was last.

"Thank you, so much. I don't know what changed your mind about me, but thank you."

Rosalie smiled. "My family is everything to me, and whether I acknowledged it or not, you were family the day Edward fell in love. You make all of us better, not just him."

"Thank you."

"Okay! Your fiancé is getting antsy down there - we'd better get moving." Alice said.

Esme ,Alice, and Rosalie walked out, and Carlisle came in.

"You look beautiful, Bella."

"Thank you. Shouldn't you be with Edward?"

"No. I'm going to walk you in."

Bella felt her chest get tight as she realized Carlisle was talking the place her father couldn't.

"Okay."

He took her arm and they walked down the stairs and into the living room.

Edward was wearing black dress slacks and a black silk shirt with a white tie. It was a striking combination.

The ceremony was quick and sweet, and as they signed their names Bella could see Esme beaming at them. It was official; she was family in every way now. It's a giddy and wonderful feeling to know, without any doubt, you belong.

The END

Well folks there you have it. It's done in every sense. I hope you all enjoyed it; it's not easy to place something you created up to the scrutiny of the world. It takes a long time to regain confidence after something you wrote is flamed, it took me 7 years to write again. This time it may not be so long, but I will probably not be writing a sequel to this next I don't force plot bunnies to do my bidding and at present there is no plot bunnies for a sequel in my head. As always your thoughts and reviews are loved and if you liked the grammar and spelling credit goes to my most awesome beta Autumn.


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